The Bitter and the Sweet
by Nukem999
Summary: RitaRunt. Rita tries to join a cat gang that feeds its member quality food and agrees to take good care of them, but she has to dump Runt to join. After he's gone, Rita founds out just how special Runt is and what life is like without him.
1. The Bitter

**The Bitter and the Sweet**

Author's Note: I never thought I'd be writing an Animaniacs fan fic in my life, but that was until I re-watched the show on the SUPER sweet DVD pack they just released, _Animaniacs Volume 1_.

I've never realized how loveable and enjoyable Rita and Runt's cartoons were until I saw them at an older age. I really like these two and I just couldn't help but write a story about them.

This is my first chance at an Animaniacs story, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy Rita and Runt!

And now on with the show!

Chapter 1: The Bitter

"Get out……get out……GET OUT"

Clattering pans and pots smashed through windows and hallways as a loud, savage voice shouted with a furious howl of anger and hatred. A pair of scampering furry creatures could be seen fumbling, and bouncing their snow white paws across the wooden floors of the local restaurant, in the kitchen to be precise.

"Boy, there are lots of yummy foods in here Rita, don't you think? I like yummy foods don't you, don't you like yummy foods?" Runt chirped.

Rita gulped "Less yakking more tracking".

The cat and dog duo frantically pumped their furry limbs towards the door as the enraged waiter screamed and hurled a sauce soaked, stirring spoon at the scrap scarfing strays. Rita and Runt howled as they ducked into the deepest, darkest, most secluded alleyway they could find and buried themselves in a rusty, tombstone colored trash can.

The black haired waiter snarled under his long, snooty moustache "Where in blazes did those filthy little flea ridden creatures go?".

Rita and Runt huddled deep under the trash can, holding their small noses in revulsion at the fowl smelling contents of their metallic hiding place. The waiter's loud, clicking shoes could be heard farther and farther away. The street smart cat sighed as she finally poked her head out of the filthy can.

"Hey Runt, I think we gave him the slip" Rita said.

Runt smiled "Hey Rita, there's some fish down here. Real tasty too, it's all bony and it tastes like mud, definitely mud……I like mud don't you?".

The silver colored cat simply sighed and hanged her soft, half cut cat ears down at the rim of the garbage can in surrender. Rita had never fully accepted Runt's simple minded view of the world, but then again, she knows he can't help the way he is.

The cat sighed "Mud……that's what our life has been reduced to……mud. Day after day, night after night, home after home, we get booted out on our cold furry rear ends. It's a really annoying routine if you ask me".

The husky, slobbering dog poked his brown, furry head out from below the can and stared at the sad and sorrowful Rita. Runt frowned and shamefully stared down at his twiddling paws.

"Boy, I sure hate seeing Rita like this" Runt thought to himself.

The female cat stared at the sky, the heavens, the stars, anywhere to escape the cold, fowl smelling world that she regretfully called reality.

Runt whimpered "I did a bad thing again didn't I Rita, definitely, definitely bad. I'm sorry, yeah, definitely sorry".

Rita half smiled "Hey, it was a sweet gig while it lasted, forget about it. Besides, the hiding under the old table cloth bit was getting stale".

The cat hopped off the can and pranced her curved, gentle framed arms and legs down the alleyway. Runt smiled and slobbered over the fishbone dangling from his drooling jaws as he followed his female, feline friend.

Rita grinned "The dream home of a lifetime is just around the corner Runt, I can smell it".

Runt nodded "Yeah me too, smells like cheese, cheese tastes good".

Rita groaned "Why do I even bother? Now that our dinner plans have gone kaput, I think it's time we moved onto dessert, what do you say Runt?".

The massive dog nodded and smiled a cheery grin, painted always with that dopey red tongue, dangling from his toothy, furry cheeks. Rita suddenly stopped and pressed one of her paws up against Runt's white chest fur. The cat gently signaled for Runt to bend down as she looked into his eyes.

"Now you gotta listen up Runt because I'm serious this time, we have GOT to get something to eat. My hunger's eating away at my 9 lives over here. You've got to promise me you'll try to be cool and follow my lead" Rita said.

Runt smiled "Okie doke Rita".

The cat wrapped her paws over Runt's ears and repeated herself "I mean it buddy, my stomach can't take anymore. Just this once, please, please, PLEASE, do as I tell you to do".

The dog raised up one of his paws and nodded "Definitely Rita, I definitely promise I will definitely try".

A few minutes later……

"OOF"

The orange haired, pimply faced teen grunted as the staggering stack of pizza boxes was hurled into his fumbling hands. Red sneakers with white stars flexed under the man's foot as he wobbled his way over to his pizza scooter. Rita watched with a sparkling twinkle in her lime colored eyes as the boxes were stacked onto the back cart of the scooter, she practically drooled. The teen hopped onto the scooter and jammed the keys into it.

Puffs of sputtering smoke spewed from the exhaust valve as the tiny, brick colored scooter started wheeling off to it's destination. The teen yawned as his yellow colored eyes closed for the briefest of moments.

WHAM!

"Whoa, dude, what was that?" the teen blinked.

Runt rolled on the ground and howled, whimpering and moaning his famous "play dead" act. The teen hopped off the scooted and gasped, thinking he had actually struck the dog, a crowd immediately started to gather.

Rita smiled "Runt, you're beautiful".

The silver stray cat climbed up the back of the scooter, her small white paws clasping over the warm metal backside of the mini bike. Powerful scents of fresh pepperoni and cheese flowed deliciously into the pink nostrils of the female feline.

"Dude, I am SO going to get fired for this" the teen protested.

Runt remained lifeless on the street, people and children reacting in horror at sight of the deceased canine. Rita carefully wrapped her small arms around the bottom of the pizza boxes and started to lift them. Runt blinked a bit as he noticed a human was coming towards him, he quickly shut his eyes and resumed his dead like state. The human stared down curiously at Runt and scratched his chin in confusion, the man couldn't find any wounds on Runt.

No bruises, no cuts, no bleeding, the dark haired man rubbed his half shaven chin in wonder. Someone shouted to check for the dog's heartbeat. Runt gulped as the man started to feel around the furry animal's chest, Runt bit his lip as he started to giggle.

"Is he breathing, I hope the poor thing's not in any pain" a worried woman said.

Rita froze in fear "Oh no, not now".

The man continued to feel around Runt's furry chest, searching for his heartbeat or any open wounds. The dog started to turn blue as he was trying to hold in his laughter. Sweat dripped down from Runt's floppy ears, he could barely hold it in any longer. Rita frantically shook her head no.

"NO, NO, you big goof, not yet, don't do it" Rita whispered.

Runt suddenly burst "HA, HA, HA, HA".

The people gasped as the dog started rolling in tears, his body thrashing around at the uncontrollable tickling sensations. The teen sighed in relief and turned back to his scooter.

"HEY, get your paws off my pizzas you stinking cat" The teen shouted.

Rita gasped and screamed as she fell off the scooter, small yellow stars circling her throbbing head.

CRASH!

The mountainous stack of pizza boxes crushed the gray cat like an accordion, Rita groaned in pain as she squeezed herself out. Runt leapt past the two humans and scooped Rita up by the back of her neck. The cat's gray fur wetly lodged between Runt's slobbering jaws as he raced away from the confused humans. The two skidded to a halt inside another run down alleyway.

Runt panted "Boy Rita that was a close one, definitely a close one".

Rita growled "You……you……DOG. What's the matter with you?"

The over sized mutt blinked a bit "What do you mean Rita?".

"Are you DEAF, did you even hear a single word I said? I said DON'T SCREW THIS UP. All you had to do was suck in your funny bone for 5 lousy minutes, and we would have been stuffing our faces full of stuffed crust by now" Rita shouted.

Runt pouted "Gee, sorry Rita I".

Rita angrily cut him off "NO, no more excuses. I'm sick of it Runt, look at me, I'm skin and bones as it is. Your screw ups have been costing us dinner for 2 weeks and I've had it up to my whiskers with it".

Runt tried to speak but the small cat easily frightened him, he weakly collapsed on his back and stared wide eyed at his friend's enraged ranting.

Rita continued "My stomach may be empty, but it's not nearly as empty as your head. I trusted you, I counted on you to support me this just one time and you blew it. Even after you promised me you could take it, you still blew it. My 9 lives have had it up to here with you and so have I Runt".

"But Rita, I tried, really I definitely, definitely tried" Runt protested.

The cat grabbed her small ears and angrily tried to yank them out, but she sighed with defeat and simply rubbed her frazzled whiskers.

Rita groaned "Just forget it, let's try and get some sleep. Maybe if were lucky we can suck some chewing gum off the sidewalk for breakfast or something".

The two strays stared away from each other before they curled up together and went to sleep. Bitter, hate filled eyes were closed tightly behind enchanting, star like eyelids on Rita's sweet but bitter stained face. Runt sighed as he nuzzled his head near Rita's, she growled and jerked her head back. The dog whimpered and slowly went to sleep, whispering softly to her.

"_I'm sorry"_

_---------- _

To be continued……


	2. Humanity

**Humanity**

The chilling winds of the graveyard painted alleyway seemed distant to the furry creatures, bathing and circling in each other's warm embrace. The dog and cat duo nested warmly into their small bodies of fur and flesh. A world of problems far, far away, tucked deep inside their land of dreams.

Runt yawned "Oh boy, its morning, definitely morning".

The warm feeling of Rita brushing against his husky, bulky body felt good to Runt. He smiled happily at the sight of a pleased Rita. The cat was also smiling, perhaps dreaming of the perfect home for herself. Runt couldn't help but sniff Rita, almost crooning at the jasmine like scent Rita gave off.

"You're a good dog inside Rita, a really good dog, I know it. And I definitely, definitely want to make you proud" Runt said.

A lingering shadow started to peel away the crisp, warm rays of rising sunshine on the two lost pets. Runt gasped as a flickering reflection bled from the shadows of darkness. The dog frantically shook Rita; the small cat was strung back and forth by the dog's frightful reaction.

Rita moaned bitterly "Owe, Runt not so rough, what's all the big……EEP".

The small cat finally realized what Runt was so scared of. A beastly, scrawny, lanky man of unimaginable horror was staggering over the two frightened animals. The man had a long, ragged black beard, and a crusty pair of rotten, half broken yellow colored teeth. The man's clothes consisted of a fowl smelling, moth eaten brown coat, a booze stained black shirt, half ripped tan pants, and black socks, completely covered with holes and tears.

The man's grungy, dirt covered face twisted into a sickening cackle at sight of the furry critters. His black nails and scrawny hands tightly grappled the handle of a large meat cleaver.

Rita gulped "Oh great, Crazy Ivan's back, why can't this guy stay locked up for a change?".

Runt whimpered "He must have escaped the police humans, definitely escaped".

Crazy Ivan chuckled "Pretty kitty, pretty kitty, me remember itty, pretty kitty".

The twisted homeless man pointed to his dirty face, faint scars that looked like cat scratches were streaked across his nose and eyebrows. Rita fearfully hid behind Runt's bulky behind.

"Do you think he still wants to eat you Rita?" Runt regretfully asked.

Ivan roared as he raised the blade "Want pretty kitty dinner NOW".

Rita screamed "I'd say that's a definite yes, RUN".

The mad man slammed his rusty cleaver into the ground and screamed in anger as Rita and Runt leapt out of the way. The cat and dog duo scraped their fumbling paws across the soot soaked alleyway, their furry muscles pumping harder and faster. Ivan screamed and continued to chant his incoherent babbling. Runt bashed his thick head through a pair of garbage cans, his charging paws bashing against crates and other objects in his way.

The animals raced into the shining daylight, shoving past walking humans to escape the blade of their twisted tormentor. Crazy Ivan's filthy and fowl smelling appearance burst into the open world in front of everyone nearby. People shrieked in horror at sight of the cleaver wielding maniac, a woman frantically shouted for someone to call the police. Ivan laughed and swung his cleaver again and again, Rita yanked her tail out of range of the blade.

The frightened female cat was clinging desperately onto Runt's back, praying her canine companion kept moving.

"I see a park Rita, a nice big park, I'm going there Rita" Runt said.

The female cat gasped as Runt took a sharp turn at a police car by the curb, and quickly raced across the street towards the park. The officers inside the car gasped as Ivan slammed his cleaver into the car's front hood with a bitter snarl. The cops immediately jumped out of the car and aimed their guns at the crazed hobo.

"Drop the knife, NOW" the cops screamed.

Finally the two fleeing animals were able to slow down, their white paws grinding into the smooth, grass covered ground of the park. Rita and Runt turned their curious eyes towards the police as they watched them handcuff and arrest Crazy Ivan.

Rita smirked "That ought to hold wacko beard for a little while. Humans, I tell ya they can be such a pain in the".

"HEY Rita, look what I found" Runt chirped in.

The cat turned to find a surprisingly cheery Runt, wagging his small tail as he sat up straight, proudly presenting his find to the tiny gray cat. Rita gasped as Runt had managed to snatch a small yellow bag of donuts in his slobbering jaws. Fresh ones, not even a tear on the packaging.

Rita practically squealed "Holy catnip, Runt where did you get this? This is like gourmet cuisine".

Runt happily replied "That nice human over there, oh boy he was real nice Rita, REAL nice. He just smiled and gave it to me for free".

The sweet and sassy cat blinked as she thought she heard Runt just say a human gave it to them for free. Rita curiously looked for the man that gave Runt the bag and almost couldn't believe what she saw. At the edge of the park, towards a large oak tree, a man was sitting on a bench. He had a suit made seemingly entirely out of silver. The man's face was young, kind, and caring looking. His hair stood on a spiky hairstyle and was dark, dark blue.

The man winked at Rita, actually singling her out of every other living creature in the park and winked directly at her. Rita rubbed her small paws over her glassy, emerald colored eyes and looked for him again. But to Rita's surprise the man had vanished, there was nothing there but an empty bench.

"A human giving us something for free? Heh, yeah right, and I'm Susan Sarandon. Well better get something to eat before Runt the garbage disposal scarfs down the whole" Rita said.

The cat blinked as she noticed the bag had already been opened, but none of the donuts had been eaten. Runt bent down and nuzzled his black nose against the bag. The bag tipped over and out rolled a donut towards Rita's pillowy soft paws; she blinked and stared at it.

Rita rose a curious brow "Uh Runt, aren't you eating?".

Runt nodded "Oh sure Rita, I just wanted to make sure you got the first bite".

Rose colored blushes warmly curved around the soft, dove like fur of Rita's angelic cheeks. The cat couldn't believe the whiskers on her face. Runt purposely held back his hunger and actually waited to make sure she got the first bite, Rita was shocked.

"Wow……t-t-t-that was very nice of you Runt……very nice……uh t-t-t-thanks, thanks a lot" Rita said.

The dog simply smiled and nodded, still waiting.

Rita smiled a bit, almost feeling as warm inside as her cheeks felt. The cat chomped into the donut and Runt eagerly followed and he stuffed his face full of the tasty bread. The donuts were delicious and any curious onlooker could see that it meant the world to these animals to eat something like this.

Rita smiled "Hey Runt".

The goofy dog replied as he yanked his head out of the bag, globs of wet dough and crumbs plastered over his slobbering face. Rita giggled a bit.

"I'm sorry about last night, you know, all that stuff I said to you, I had my whiskers in a fit. I shouldn't have bitten your head off like that" Rita said.

Runt blinked "That's funny, I thought my head was still attached".

The gray cat giggled "Not what I meant but, I just wanted you to know that I get a little frustrated sometimes, you know? This world chews you up and spits you out and it's hard to put up with that kind of stuff".

Runt nodded "Uh huh, uh huh".

Rita continued "I only want the best for us, depending on scraps isn't an easy way of life, but right now it's the only one we got. Just promise me you'll do your best and help me out when I need a paw or two, deal?".

"Deal" Runt happily replied.

The furry critters continued to eat and enjoy their company together in the warm sunshine and serene beauty of the park. Rita and Runt felt closer then ever, mostly due to the indescribable feeling of finally having something good to eat. Unbeknownst to the cat and dog however, there were more people watching them then just the citizens in the park. The man in the silver suit continued to watch and spy on the two from the fall of the shadows.

Another pair of eyes also focused on the cat and dog duo, this one appeared to be more animal then human. A duo of cat like rose colored red eyes glared upon Rita, as she licked her paws and jaws clean of any donut crumbs. The mysterious two shadowy creatures smiled at sight of the small gray cat.

"_What a stuck up little kitten, who does she think she is"_

"_Pipe down Fran or she'll hear you. Remember what were here for, we've got to see if she's eligible or not"_

"_I didn't forget Cheryl. She's greedy, bossy, sassy, certainly seems good enough"_

"_But what about that mutt? He could ruin everything were planning" _

"_We'll let Iris worry about the mutt, for now, I think it's time we head back and prepare for Rita's……audition. I think she just may be……**the one**"_

_---------- _

To be continued……


	3. Soft Spots

**Soft spots**

The soft, fall wind slipped across the rocky stone walls of concrete and steel. A chilling sensation crept up the soft silver colored fur of the small gray cat known as Rita. An adorable sounding "achoo" escaped her furry lips as she wiped her pink nose clean with a pillow soft paw.

"Gugenheim Rita" Runt said.

"That's……awe never mind" Rita replied.

The soft chewy texture of the white donuts munched delightfully in the hungry mouths of the two lost pets. Rita's soft munching lips curled around globs of powdery bread, and Runt eagerly chomped his slobbering jaws across every morsel of food he could gather. Any curious onlooker would have seen nothing then a pair of stray animals, scrounging for scraps and simply adding nothing to society's existence other then loitering and leeching.

But to Rita and Runt……this meal meant so _much_ more……

How many days has it been since I dined on such a feast Rita thought, how many countless nights have I slept in the darkness with a hollow belly and an empty heart? So much hunger and so much starvation, I can barely remember a life past the streets of scavenging vultures and rat infested table scraps. Once there was warmth, a kind and loving home that embraced Rita's small, furry frame. Once, there was a home she could call her own.

Now Rita's jasmine eyes glitter upon the twisted joke that has become her horrid poor excuse for an existence. Limping from home to home, and scrounging for measly scraps of food that barely satisfy the gnawing hunger pains that ravaged her inner heart and immortal soul. Rita looks at Runt, how blissfully happy and simple he seemed. Runt's world was nothing but a great big game, a wonderful world of laughter, sunshine and rainbows in the sky.

Yet behind those jasmine eyes as Rita stared into Runt's very being, like he was some sort of enigmatic painting waiting to be discovered, Rita felt envy.

"How do you do it?" Rita asked solemnly.

"Huh? Do what Rita?" Runt asked.

"How is it you can look at the world so lightly? How can you look past the cold, the pain, and the darkness that suffocates these people's hearts Runt?" Rita asked.

"Um, Rita you're confusing me. Did I do something bad?" Runt asked.

Rita laughed "No……that's just it. You can't seem to do wrong, or see wrong. Everywhere we go, you seem to find happiness in even the most dangerous places. I've been manhandled by a gorilla, prepared for someone's supper, tossed out on my rear, and nearly scarified to a bunch of cat worshipping loony bins. But even after all of that, you still find reason to smile".

Runt blinked "Well of course I can Rita; it's easy you just go like this".

The dopey dog flexed his pearly whites into a toothy grin and Rita just looked at him and laughed. Rita's jasmine eyes sparkled a few diamond colored tears as she watched Runt, just watched him, always watching him.

"I wish I could smile as brightly as you can" Rita said.

"Um okay" Runt said.

The small gray cat simply sobbed a bit and rushed into the warm, soft embrace of the white belly fur of Runt's chest. Runt just blinked and felt the loving embrace of his female cat friend nuzzle into his fuzzy fur. Something in Runt's mind told him that Rita was sad, something very deep in his happy filled heart. Rita buried her face in Runt's chest and continued to hug him.

Runt nervously asked "Rita, why do you hate humans?".

The female cat gasped as her furry cheeks slowly moved out of Runt's warm, white crested embrace. Rita looked at Runt with confused eyes.

"I was wondering, yeah, definitely wondering, why do you hate humans so much Rita?" Runt asked.

The cat frowned "I don't like humans that much but I never said I hated them".

Runt replied "But I think you do Rita. I hear you say they stink when a lot of them smell nice. We always look for nice homes but you're always mean towards other humans, definitely mean, like you can't trust them. Why?".

Rita blinked "Runt, your making my whiskers twitch over here".

Runt frowned "Oh uh I didn't mean to, I'm sorry Rita. Yeah, definitely sorry".

The dog realized this was upsetting his small feline friend, Runt turned his head towards the bag of donuts and continued to eat. Rita's chalk white paws flexed furry digits across her silk, smooth furry face in confusion. How can she believe what she just heard just now, how could Rita possibly believe?

"Runt I just" Rita slowly said.

Runt turned his eyes towards Rita, a curious look on his goofy little face. Rita bit her soft lip and simply shook her head.

"Nothing Runt……let's just eat" Rita said.

Not another word was spoken. The two small animals ate in silence, their mouths munching away at their tiny feast. It was a meal that humans considered snack foods, a dainty appetizer loaded with useless grams of fat and tasteless sugar acting as nothing more then a sugary piece of bread.

To Rita and Runt……it was the finest meal they had eaten in months……

That following day, the fall of darkness roamed across the city's sky. The alleyway became cold and ruthless as bone chilling winds froze the blood in the two animal's furry veins. Rita and Runt had snuggled up inside the confines of a withered down, half broken cardboard box. The box provided little protection from the harsh winds that hammered down like bolts of lighting. Still, the cat and dog duo were content being beside one another.

No matter where they may be.

"Anyone home?" Rita silently whispered.

The tiny gray cat gently poked the floppy brown ears of Runt, her pink ears slowly curling upwards to see if she could hear a response. Nothing. Runt's snores ensured Rita he was asleep, she tip toed out of the cardboard box and entered the chilly alleyway. Rita looked around and quickly made sure there was no one else in sight. The cat then glided her soft paws down the alleyway, with her head hanging low and her jaded eyes holding back tears.

Sometimes when Runt was asleep, Rita would go walk around and let her thoughts keep her company. The bright, glowing rays of the full moon shined down upon the dove like glare of Rita's trouble filled eyes. Rita looked straight up into the heavens, her eyes gazing into the endless blanket of stars above her.

FLASHBACK

"_But I think you do Rita. I hear you say they stink when a lot of them smell nice. We always look for nice homes but you're always mean towards other humans, definitely mean, like you can't trust them. Why?"._

END FLASHBACK

The small cat spoke……she spoke to god.

"What's happening to me?" Rita said.

----------

To be continued……


	4. Voices

**Voices**

"Huh? R-r-r-Rita, Rita do you smell pie, I definitely, definitely smell pie" Runt murmured in his sleep.

The dog's red haired head suddenly slumped down and conked onto the ground. Runt grunted and rubbed his furry noggin, his goofy eyes suddenly realized there was a certain, sweet small gray cat missing.

"Rita? Rita where'd you go, where'd you go?" Runt asked.

The dog turned around and quickly sniffed his tail; he shook his head, no Rita there. Runt smiled and started to sniff his female friend out. Runt's oval shaped black olive nose dug straight into the concrete street, and searched amongst scattered newspapers and sticky leftover pieces of half chewed bubblegum. Suddenly Runt's floppy black ears rose up as he heard a faint voice in the middle of the night. The voice was soft, gentle, whimsical sounding, and yet rough and tough as a cookie that's been left on the counter overnight.

Runt smiled "That's definitely Rita".

Clopping his white paws towards the sound of Rita's angelic voice, Runt stretched his light brown forearms and quickly hurried in search of his beloved friend. Runt skidded to a screeching halt as he found Rita. The female feline was sitting on top of a garbage can, perched on top like it was a stepping stool and talking to someone Runt could not see.

"What'cha doing out here Rita?" Runt happily asked.

"WAH" Rita gasped.

The silver cat stumbled back and collapsed into the garbage can, globs of green goop and dried banana peels rained down upon Rita's furry head. Runt looked into the can and found a sulking Rita with garbage sprinkling down her pink nose.

"Wow Rita, you fell down real good" Runt said.

"Your powers of observation are astounding Runt" Rita sighed.

Runt scooped Rita's neck fur into his jaws as he gently carried her out of the can and set her on the ground. Rita groaned in disgust as she shook the chunks of garbage off of her, like shaking off water.

Rita sighed "Runt what are you doing up so late at night? All good doggies should be asleep and dreaming of bones and other dog……stuff".

Runt blinked "Gee Rita I was, but then I couldn't find you and then I heard you talking to someone so I came to see who it was".

Rita gasped as she realized Runt might have overheard her conversation; she idly rubbed her gray arm and bashfully hanged her head down. Runt looked at Rita curiously.

"Did I scare your friend off Rita, is that why I didn't see him when you were talking to him?" Runt asked.

"No, no, Runt the guy I was talking to well……he's not the kind of person you can see. He was just someone I was kind of asking for help. Praying is more like it" Rita said.

"Well did he help you?" Runt asked.

The tiny gray cat slowly tilted those glittering eyes of jaded emerald into the night sky and gazed off into the heavens. Rita sighed as her prayers seemed to go unanswered.

"No……not yet anyway" Rita said.

A look of sadness and sorrow painted the heart breaking picture of Rita's once kind and delicate face, Rita sighed and just stared endlessly at the dark, dank, rotten streets of this accursed city. Runt simply frowned and realized Rita was hurting and that she probably wanted to be alone. The dog started to turn his paws back towards the cardboard box.

Rita sniffled "You really want to know why I hate humans Runt?".

The question caught the dopey dog off guard. Runt turned and stared a bewildered gaze at the back of his sweet singing friend, Rita stood there and lightly dangled her tail across the ice cold streets. Runt smiled as he approached Rita from the side and gently nuzzled her soft white, furry cheeks with his own.

Runt smiled "Definitely".

Rita grinned "All right then".

Runt walked around in a small circle and then plopped his crossed paws down on the ground and sat still, his tiny tail wagging eagerly for Rita's little story.

Rita began "Not too long ago when I was a little kit……uh I mean puppy, I used to live in great, big, nice, warm and loving human home. My master loved me very, very much. I remember almost every day I wound up with a new gift, just sitting by my little bed. A ball of string here, a scratching post there, just little presents that made me feel like this is where I was meant to be. And the petting _oooooooooh_ I just loved my master's touch.

The way those fingers rubbed onto my back……purr……it was paradise. And as I got older the warmth got stronger and it was at that point I finally realized what a lucky little ball of fur I was. I had everything a pet could want, food, shelter, warmth, and love, oh boy I tell you Runt it was a dream come true".

"Boy oh boy Rita that sounds super nice, definitely, definitely nice. But wait, then how'd you end up here?" Runt asked.

"The same way all dreams do big guy, they get forgotten. At some point everything just stopped being cute. Now everything was "**don't touch that" **and **"get your paws off this"**. Everything that I loved about that life was slowly taken away piece by piece, until I was the only thing that existed of those forgotten happy times. Then I was given up" Rita said.

"Gee Rita that sounds just awful" Runt said.

"It's worse, it's terrible. It's like your whole world has been some kind of cruel joke and your left with the punch line at the end. My master threw me out like yesterday's garbage, I was nothing more then a fad to that stinking human. I gave him my heart, my love, my care, every ounce of my 9 lines to that ungrateful jerk and what do I get? BAM" Rita shouted.

Runt flinched as Rita's paw slammed into the backside of the garbage can.

"I get dumped on my rear end faster then you can say eviction notice. That's the day I ended up in the pound, and that's the day I learned that you can't count on ANYONE Runt. Humans, pets, birds, bugs, none of them are worth one ounce of your time. They chew you up and spit you out like bubblegum, and leave you behind to get walked and stepped on. That's why I hate them Runt, that's why I HATE humans" Rita screamed.

The dog gasped as he saw Rita's furry veins bulging out of her once sweet, and majestic jasmine eyes. Rita looked like she was angry enough to pop a blood vessel. Rita's eyes started to swell up with tears as she clenched her furry fists and started slamming the trash can behind her. Every tear that fell, Rita smashed her fist into the can's side.

"I hate them……I hate all of them……can't trust them……no……can't trust a single one of them……you can't" Rita continued to mumble.

A large paw was gently placed on Rita's small gray shoulder, warmth and fur gently rubbed Rita's tiny arm as she looked towards Runt. The big grinning dog smiled and gently rubbed his furry paws across Rita's sobbing eyes, the paw felt smooth and relaxing against Rita's furry face. The cat just stared at Runt and continued to cry even harder.

"You can count on me Rita" Runt said.

"Oh Runt" Rita sobbed.

Rita and Runt locked arms as the two animals just sat there in the darkness. The moonlight glittering upon them, their hearts and arms locked together in a warm hearted embrace, and a smile of friendship painted the 2 animals' loving faces. Runt leaned down and gently licked Rita's ear, the one with the small cut in it. Rita sniffled and gently looked up to Runt's kind yet silly face after licking her cut ear.

"He……he did that……he did that to my ear" Rita sobbed.

"You can _always_ count on me Rita" Runt replied.

The dog and cat simply hugged again and held onto each other, as long as they could.

Meanwhile……

Up upon a building rooftop, a pair of sinister feline shadows lurked amongst the crimson darkness that covered the concrete rooftops. Three cats, three dark and mysterious cats looked down upon the cuddling couple of Rita and Runt.

"So, this is the one you've been telling me about?" the middle cat said.

The left cat was dark orange, had dark brown eyes and stretched out, screwed up black whiskers. Her name was Fran. The cat on the right was an angelic, pasty white with a slightly puffier figure and a sparkling gleam in her pink eyes. She had a white colored belly with a slight hint of baby fat. Her name was Cheryl.

"Yeah, that's the little squirt, kind of on the puny side isn't she?" Fran said.

"She's no scrawnier then you were when we first dug your skinny hide up Francis" Cheryl mocked.

"Watch it puff ball, the name's Fran and don't you forget it" Fran snapped.

"ENOUGH" the middle cat shouted.

The middle cat was the leader, she had a dark, emerald shade of green about her curved furry body. There were small black tips on the green cat's ears and her paw fur was a very dark chocolate brown. The cat's eyes were a mixed color: one was yellow and one was crystal blue. Her name was Iris.

Iris frowned "You both know how skeptical I am about bringing new members into the fold, and I've got to tell you, she's not what I'd call a prime candidate".

Fran protested "Oh but she is Iris, trust me whiskers she is. I've seen her running out of every restaurant in the city. This cat's got more holes in her stomach then Swiss cheese, she's perfect".

Cheryl added "Plus you can tell how desperate she is by hanging out with that mutt. A cat that can use a dog for her own personal muscle, now that's a cat with brains".

Iris smirked "I suppose you two are right. She may be just the kind of cat were looking for, and with enough desperation motivating her, she'll be begging us to let her join".

Cheryl and Fran chuckled as they rubbed their filthy paws together.

"We'll start everything tomorrow, give the little kitten a test run to see if she's got the claws for it. For now let's scram" Iris said.

The 3 mangy cats started to turn and head off back into the night. The orange cat, Fran, stopped after the others went off. Fran curiously looked down and smirked as she spotted Rita so blissfully unaware of what's to come, locked in paw and arm with her dog friend.

"Heh, see ya soon Rita" Fran chuckled.

----------

To be continued……


	5. The Scarlet Angels

**The Scarlet Angels**

Rita outstretched her paws, her soft, tiny pink tongue fluttering into a delightful sounding purr at the brisk chill of a new day's breeze. She felt more alive then the day she was born. The city, the people, the pain, the rejection that had been scorched into the very essence of Rita's heart, was all gone.

"I love this city" Rita said, following up with a short laugh.

Those are 4 words Rita thought she would never say. The bright shining sun bathed the cat's gray and white fur in a glittering sea of sparkling rays; Rita sucked in gobs of fresh air and sighed in blissful relief. She almost felt as if she were flying as Rita greeted the life she had so carelessly moped away. So many times she felt sad, so many times she locked herself into a corner of darkness, so many, many times.

"Mommy I want to go to preschool" Runt said.

Rita giggled as her lumbering canine companion stirred from his drool splattered slumber; the furry creature opened his eyes and smiled warmly towards Rita's returning grin.

"Hi Rita, good morning" Runt said.

"Good morning to you too Runt, did you sleep well?" Rita sincerely asked. Her voice spoke with more care, more kindness, she really wanted to know how well Runt slept.

"I slept well, definitely, definitely well. Nice and warm and cozy too" Runt happily added.

Rita smirked and hopped off the trash can her tiny paws were perched upon; she gently rubbed Runt's red hair and smiled at him.

"What about you Rita? You sleep well?" Runt asked.

Rita smiled "I slept like a million bucks thanks to you big guy. It meant a lot to me last night Runt, you know, talking to me and being there for me".

The dog chuckled "Hey, what are friends for?".

Rita replied "Before you Runt, I never knew what they were for, but I do now".

The silver cat's little paw stretched up behind Runt's floppy brown ears and gently tickled him behind his head. Runt barked with excitement, his paws turned upward as he rolled onto his back and started squirming with joy. Rita sweetly smiled at Runt's play demeanor, how strangely beautiful his smile looked today Rita thought.

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy" Runt laughed.

"Okay, okay, enough fooling around. What do you say we snag ourselves some breakfast from that hot dog cart over there Runt?" Rita asked.

A skinny, grease faced human was operating a hot dog cart near Rita and Runt. The man opened up a box full of steam and fresh meat, Runt nearly drooled at sight of the lush, plump, red sausages. Rita and Runt looked at each other and nodded as they moved into place.

"All right Runt, here's what we do, I'll distract the human, then you knock down the cart and we carry as many mouthfuls of meat we can get our paws on. Got it?" Rita asked.

"Definitely" Runt replied, cheerful and enthusiastic as always.

The cat and dog duo slowly lurched their paws forward, their animal eyes locked on the meaty prize as they prepared to dash for the cart.

Rita smirked "Okay Runt, on the count of 3……One……two".

FLASH!

SWIPE!

CLANG!

Before Rita's purring, pillow lips could speak the final number; a trio of dark shadows suddenly attacked the hot dog cart and knocked it right over. The hot dog seller gasped as he looked around in horror to see his meaty dogs scattered across the streets. The three shadows dance one more time as they rapidly swallow the fallen hot dogs up in a flash. Rita and Runt were totally confused.

"Did you do that?" Runt and Rita asked each other.

"No……_we_ did"

Rita's half cut ears tilted backwards, following the voices to a crooked alleyway just between a clock shop and an antique store. The tiny cat bitterly growled at the voices that had so carelessly stolen her food. Rita sprinted into the alley, her claws bared and ready to claw those hot dog snatchers. Runt woofed and quickly followed his female friend.

"Okay sister, I don't know what kennel you just crawled out of but that doesn't give you the right to swipe OUR food. We had dibs on it first. Now come out here and show me who you are, so I can swipe the stuffing out of your face" Rita snapped.

"We had dibs? Say Rita I thought we wanted hot dogs, not dibs" Runt asked.

The mysterious voice simply laughed at the dog's stupidity. Two other shadows appeared in the center of the alleyway, with the 3rd one laughing as it slowly appeared between the 2 other shadows.

"You really want these dogs so badly? Here, take the whole thing" the middle shadow said.

The two side shadows tossed out a huge pile of hot dogs, some singular, some still attached to their meaty links. The three cats slowly walked into the sunlight and revealed their true identities. Rita gasped once she saw the face of the middle cat.

"Catching food like that comes naturally……to the Scarlet Angels" Iris said.

"Holy claws and catnip you're……you're……you're Iris, Cheryl, and Frances of the Scarlet Angels" Rita said, wide eyed.

The orange bitter cat snarled "That's FRAN pipsqueak".

Rita gulped and immediately turned red in the face, she had just mouthed off to the infamous Scarlet Angels gang. She nervously smiled and bowed before Iris. Runt grunted as Rita suddenly yanked on one of his dark brown ears, Rita compelled Runt to bow down as well.

"Gee Rita, what cha doing down here?" Runt curiously asked.

"Runt, don't you know who that is?" Rita asked.

The dopey dog shook his head no.

Rita sighed "Somehow I'm not surprised. That's Iris and the Scarlet Angels, the legendary female cat gang who practically own these streets. These gals are famous for being smart, crafty, and genius food snatchers. They organize their food runs like strategic missions, and they manage to snag loads of food without even getting their whiskers mussed".

Runt gasped "Boy Rita, I never heard of them before, but they sure sound nice. Helping out each other, definitely nice to help, definitely".

Rita replied "There more then nice, there high class, top of the food chain, premium quality felines. These are the kind of cat's kitten's dream of becoming".

With all the talk of excitement, food, and angels, Runt suddenly realized that Rita had just said the "magic" word.

"A cat? A cat? Where's a cat? Huh? Huh? I'll GRR, show me the cat, come on, come on" Runt growled.

The large dog snarled and snapped his angry jaws into a spinning circle. Runt's brown fur turned into a brown blur as he wildly chased his tail, savagely searching for the cats Rita had just mentioned. The Scarlet Angels simply stared at Runt with raised eyebrows.

Rita nervously laughed "Dogs, go fig".

Iris annoyingly replied "Indeed. So I heard you wanted to see me about something, I believe it was to swipe the stuffing out of my face, correct?".

Rita gulped "I uh I uh……did I say that?".

Cheryl, Fran, and Iris all angrily nodded.

"WHOA stupid cat, stupid cat. Ha, ha, just forget what I said I have worms……or some other disease that made me say those terrible, terrible, terrible things and I just uh I'm uh……sorry" Rita weakly replied.

"You're not in the litter box Rita so just cool your claws" Iris said.

"Hey wait, you know my name? I can't believe it, the leader of the Scarlet Angels knows my name" Rita said, on the verge of squealing.

Runt watched Rita practically drooling at sight of these so called, infamous cats. It was clear by the flashing stars in Rita's eyes, these cats meant the world to her. Their image, their skills, their speed, it all seemed so important to Rita. Runt had never seen Rita so kind and caring to someone, he was worried about her though. Rita seemed blindly obedient to these cats, like everything she does needs to be judged or approved by them.

"Uh hello, my name's Runt" the smiling dog said.

Runt extended his paw to Iris and the other cats. The green cat simply stared at Runt's paw and looked at him with an "are you an idiot?" glare, her multi colored eyes practically drilling holes into Runt's black eyes. Runt cautiously pulled his paw back and figured that they maybe they just didn't want to shake. Fran and Cheryl turned their noses away from Runt.

"What a moron" Fran whispered.

"He smells like dead fish, probably has the brains of one too" Cheryl added.

Runt frowned, hearing every word and little snap about him. The red haired dog leaned down to tell Rita about this but stopped when she saw Rita kissing Iris's black paw feet and staring wide eyed at her like she was a celebrity. Runt sighed and smiled, keeping his mouth shut as he didn't want to ruin this Rita, this obviously meant _everything_ to her.

Iris chuckled "Of course I know your name sweetie, I've been watching you for a while now. My fellow angels say you're quite the scrapper. I hear you'll do anything for a piece of food, even face down a horde of humans armed with cleavers and baseball bats".

Rita bashfully blushed "Well I'm not one to brag. I mean, I've never scored a prize like these hot dogs before. I mean me and Runt we only, oh, DOH, almost forgot. Guys this is my friend, Runt".

The small cat proudly introduced her canine friend, Runt once again flashed a warm smile and tried to extend his paw out a second time. Fran frowned and spat at the ground with disgust of Runt's overly cheerful gesture.

"Yes……I know" Iris said, staring angrily at that paw once more.

Runt recoiled his paw and gently hanged his head, his cheery smile and shining eyes seemed to dwindle into a heartbroken frown. Rita gently cradled his soft face and asked him what was wrong. Cheryl gasped and quickly yanked Iris over by her ear.

"May day, may day, were losing her" Cheryl whispered.

"Right uh. SAY Rita, why don't you and your……_friend_ help yourself to these hot dogs. There not going to eat themselves you know. When your done, meet me at the junkyard and we can discuss your future with the Scarlet Angels" Iris said.

Rita's feline eyes slowly widened as she nearly burst into tears.

"You mean? I could be?" Rita said.

"We'll find out sweetie, we'll find out. Remember, we'll be at the old junkyard on Kinzie Street and crossing. Don't be late" Iris said with a sly grin.

Fran and Cheryl smirked at each other as they vanished into the shadows of the alleyway alongside their leader, Iris. Rita nearly jumped out of her gray fur as she latched her paws onto Runt's head and hugged him like mad.

"Runt I don't believe it. Iris, THE Iris, is interested in me joining the Scarlet Angels. I told you Runt, things are finally looking up. Pretty soon we'll never go hungry again" Rita cheered.

Runt nodded to his friend, giving her a cheerful woof and a great big smile. Though deep, deep in the back of Runt's mind he had a feeling. Runt had a very bad feeling about this.

A very bad feeling about this.

----------

To be continued……


	6. Auditions

**Auditions**

"Well, this looks like the place" Rita said.

The small, sweet singing cat and her faithful, yet playful canine companion curiously huddled their hanging heads close by. Rita and Runt were surrounding by monstrous sized towers of half smashed cars and twisted steel. They had finished their hot dog meal and like Iris said, decided to meet with her and the other Scarlet angels for possibly being accepted intro the gang.

"This place is even messier then my old doggy bones, yeah, definitely messy all right" Runt said.

"Play it cool Runt, these cats are going to take real good care of us, that's what they do. I know that if I can get in we'll never have to go to sleep hungry ever again" Rita cheerfully said.

Runt smiled and gently nodded his shaggy, furry little noggin. Sure Runt wanted food, it all sounded so yummy the way Rita described it, but something still felt wrong about this. Runt had a bad feeling about those cats and he was worried not only for his sake but more importantly, Rita's sake.

"Rita sure likes these new dogs. Too bad they don't like me, definitely don't like me. But if Rita is happy then Runt will be happy for Rita. I definitely want Rita to be happy, even if I'm not, definitely sure on that" Runt thought to himself.

CLANK!

A half crunched soup can rolled towards Rita's snow colored paws, her furry toes recoiled as the can gently brushed up to the base of her silver fur and smooth furred paws. Runt and Rita looked up towards the top of the highest junk pile and spotted the 3 cats, mysteriously staring at them like perched vultures.

Iris smirked "Good, you came. Looks like you owe me some rodents Fran".

Fran grumbled "Awe shut up and get on with it".

Rita and Runt exchanged bewildered glances, the two small animals started to have some nervous feelings about this meeting. The green furred leader of the angels started to prance down the towering trash pile.

Iris said "To become a Scarlet angel is no easy feat my sweet little Rita, you've got to have the brains, the guts, and the know how to survive in this man-eat animal world. We work together and we stick together, always watching each other's back and being prepared for any nasty surprise mankind or animal kind can throw at us. It's not all fish heads and saucer creams, there's also a lot of work and even more dedication.

To be an angel is to have faith, and when you have faith in your fellow angels, you can do ANYTHING. We fill our bellies full of fresh filth free food every night and we never go away empty handed".

Cheryl nodded "We eat like royalty and we intend to keep it that way. Were not ordinary strays, no, we are far above the likes of them and far from filthy street urchins we once were, leeching half rotten leftovers from disgusting garbage cans".

Fran chuckled a bit "So that's the sitch little miss muffin. This isn't a clubhouse for kittens, and were nobody's babysitters. So if you really think you got the claws to walk paw and paw with us and eat like a queen the rest of your 9 lives, then say so now or scoot your tiny little behind out of here".

Rita stared down at the ground for a bit, her tiny pickle shaped, cute little paw toes twitched a little as she pondered her decisions. Runt gasped as he saw a bright and determined spark glittering in Rita's mysterious jungle green colored eyes of hers.

"Okay then, I'm in" Rita said proudly.

Iris smirked while Fran and Cheryl looked to each other chuckling softly with sly smirks on their furry faces. Runt seemed to be the only one cheering and clapping his paws together for Rita. The tiny gray cat smiled and patted Runt on the back as she thanked him.

"All right then pussycat, let's go make you a mountain lion. Girls? Flash them the goods" Iris said.

Fran and Cheryl nodded as they hopped their dirtied up paws on the mud tracked, half smashed hoods of the mangled cars. The two cats approached a large, black, moth eaten tarp or pool cover that was blocking off a certain area. Fran yanked a piece of rope between her pointed cat fangs and dropped down the black tarp.

"The only way for you to become a Scarlet angel is for you, Rita, to pass this obstacle course with our special form of training. Once you do that, you're in like flint" Iris said.

The obstacle course was lined with swinging tires, hub cap disc riders, oil puddles, junk piles, and other various forms of obstacles and booby traps.

Rita smirked "Okay girls, get ready to have your tails twisted, because it's show time".

Runt nodded "Oh boy, oh boy, this is definitely gonna be fun".

Suddenly Runt scooped his jaws around the back of Rita's neck fur, the small cat gasped as her white paws were lifted off the junkyard floor. Rita's jasmine eyes bulged out as she frantically squealed for Runt to put her down.

"HEY, Runt you big lug, what the heck do you think your doing?" Rita pleaded.

Runt suddenly took off in a mad dash towards the center of the obstacle course; Rita screamed and covered her eyes over her paws as Runt entered the course.

CLANG!

BAM!

WHAM!

CRASH!

A few minutes later, Rita nervously opened her eyes and gulped as she expected to see the obstacle course in ruins. The small gray cat expected to be covered in muck and totally filthy from her happy, go lucky canine friend's fun little "romp".

"Hey, what the?" Rita gasped.

Rita was clean as a whistle; there wasn't a spot of mud, dirt, or grime on her gray, furry coat. Rita's curious eyes turned around to see the condition of the obstacle course. Surprisingly the course was in tact; the obstacles weren't destroyed, mangled, or torn apart at all. Runt smiled as he cupped his jaws tightly around Rita's neck fur, lifting her high enough off the ground to be clear of the oil puddle he was standing in.

"I'm speechless Runt" Rita said.

"But Rita, you just spoke" Runt said, confusedly.

"No, I mean I can't believe you made it through the whole obstacle course without screwing up. You didn't even get a spot on me" Rita said.

"Definitely didn't Rita. I did my best because I knew it was important to you Rita, definitely important" Runt said proudly.

The small gray cat smiled brightly, her heart warmed by her friend's selfless determination to please her. Rita was just about to thank Runt until she turned around and her whiskered smile suddenly wilted into a bitter frown. It turns out the oil puddle Runt tried so hard to keep Rita away from, ended up splashing on the Scarlet Angels instead.

"Nice landing" Cheryl frowned.

Iris and Fran groaned as they coughed up a glob of black goop from their drenched furry lips. Rita groaned and slapped herself in the face.

"Uh sorry?" Runt said.

"I can't _wait_ to see what he does for an encore" Iris groaned.

15 minutes later……

Iris crossed her paws and stared angrily at the bumbling singing duo of Rita and Runt. Cheryl and Fran were just finishing up wiping off all the oil and grime that had been sticking to their furry hides. Rita gulped as she secretly crossed her paws, hoping Runt's little "pool party" didn't ruin her chances of getting into the gang.

"Your lucky I think we need you squirt, otherwise, you'd be out of here so fast your paws would burn. I'm giving you one last shot to be apart of this gang. Blow it this time and you're out for good" Iris said.

Rita nodded nervously. Runt simply yawned but Rita quickly elbowed him in the gut, the smiling dog recomposed himself and nodded as well.

"Now, me and the girls are going to discuss your next test. You keep that MUTT friend of yours on a leash this time while we figure things out" Iris said sternly.

Once again, Rita nodded obediently to Iris. The twin eye colored cat scoffed at Rita and turned her tail up snootily as she headed off to converse with Fran and Cheryl. Rita quickly turned around and crossed her paws as she glared at Runt with those sparkling, jasmine green eyes of hers.

"Runt, we've got a problem" Rita said.

"Really, did it follow us from home? Oh can we keep him?" Runt asked.

"Ugh, look big guy; I know you were trying to help me out back there. Your heart was in the right place…..just not your feet. It's really important that we get on these cats good sides or else we'll be eating stamp glue for the rest of our lives" Rita said.

"Why do you want to join them Rita?" Runt asked.

The female cat gasped, she just stared at Runt with a bewildered face. How can he even ask that after what she just explained to him?

"I mean, they don't seem very nice, and I'm worried that they don't like me. They definitely don't seem to like me" Runt said.

"Well naturally certain people are always weird around others but I don't think it's anything serious Runt. I mean if I go you go, package deal, were stuck together like spaghetti and meatballs" Rita said proudly.

"Oh boy, I LOVE meat balls especially with peppers" Runt said happily.

The small cat smiled and gently stroked her furry friend's floppy ears.

"Don't worry Runt; it'll all be worth it. Once were in we'll never have to go hungry again and we can finally get off these cold streets and start living the good life" Rita said.

The dopey dog smiled and nodded happily.

"Yup, things are looking pretty good for us big guy" Rita said.

Meanwhile at the Angels secret meeting……

Fran snarled "That stupid freak dog of hers is driving me crazy; I can't stand to even be near that……that……thing".

Cheryl nodded "I agree, he smells horrific and my god have you seen how much he drools? YUCK! What an awful creature".

Iris replied "I know, I know, I don't like it anymore then you do but that whiny little feline is practically attached to him. We can't use her for our plans as long as she carries that mentally challenged mutt of hers around".

Fran added "I say we do the world a favor and shove Benji brains into a speeding truck".

"HA. Stupid twit, Rita will know for sure it was us and there's no way she'd be of any use to us all sobby and whiny" Cheryl said.

Iris chuckled "Then we'll just have to make her want to get rid of him".

Both Fran and Cheryl stared blankly at their twitching whiskers; the two cats were very curious how they could separate the incredibly strong bond between Rita and Runt. Iris raised her scratchy brown paws up and fingered for her friends to lean in close.

Iris whispered "We'll let Rita and her dog into the club……for now. Were going to give her one final test, she's going to fail the test and it's up to us to make sure that her dog friend gets blamed for it. After that, she'll dump Runt like rotten tuna and Rita will have no one left to turn to but us. So get ready girls. Tomorrow, were going to dump the dog".

----------

To be continued……


	7. A bad feeling

**A bad feeling**

"Burgers and buns here I come, were gonna be eating big and large tomorrow night Runt, WHOOO YEAH" Rita shouted.

The smiling dog simply nodded and grinned nervously at his friend overly excited behavior. Rita hasn't acted like this in all the time Runt's known her; it was actually starting to freak him out. Rita had just been given the preliminaries about her final exam in order to enter the Scarlet angels, and she was incredibly psyched about it.

"Oh Runt it's perfect, we'll be in like flint. We sneak into the bakery, chew the electrical wires, cut off both the lights and any pesky pest alarms, slip in, snag the food, and slip out of there before those humans figure out what happened. It's beautiful" Rita said.

"Uh huh" Runt said dryly.

"We got nothing to worry about from here on in Runt my boy. By ten tomorrow night, we'll be stuffing ourselves silly with cream pies, chocolate cake, and enough creamy goodies to make us swell up like balloons, all thanks to the Scarlet Angels" Rita said.

"Uh huh" Runt repeated.

"Hey uh Runt, watch out for that puddle up ahead" Rita suddenly said.

"Uh HOOWAHHH" Runt screamed.

The dog's white paws suddenly slipped and sprawled across the ice cold watery puddle like it was oil, Runt gasped as his furry toes couldn't find any footing. Runt gasped as his front legs tripped and he fell face first into the ground. Rita was hurled from his back and she smacked right into a mail box, face first. The cat groaned as she twitched her tail.

Runt gasped "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Rita! Rita! Oh boy Rita I'm definitely sorry Rita, definitely, definitely sorry".

Nervous slobbering jaws wrapped around Rita's small white tail tip, Runt groaned as he yanked back on Rita's tail and peeled her off the mailbox like a gum wrapper. The small female cat simply grumbled in whimpering pain as she slowly regained her shapely figure.

Rita sighed "Ugh, next stop, Headache Ville and concussion highway".

Runt whimpered "Boy Rita, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to slip like that".

Rita shrugged "Eh it's all right Runt, it's no biggie. But I'm more worried about you buddy. I mean, you seemed like you had your head in the clouds there".

The large dog suddenly looked at Rita with confused eyes. Runt's big, black, gentle looking eyes shined nervously into the grassy, emerald shine of Rita's eyes. Rita said something that made Runt feel nervous, feel uncomfortable, feel strange.

Rita blinked "Runt? What is it? What's the matter?".

Runt half smiled "N-n-nothing Rita, yeah, definitely nothing".

Rita insisted "Runt come on, stop this. This isn't like you and you're starting to scare me. What's the matter? You can tell me, I promise I won't get mad".

Runt shook his head "But you will, your going to get real mad. Your happy Rita, definitely happy, and I don't want to make you not happy".

Rita rubbed her face "Runt, I'm going nuts over here, will you just spit it out already?".

Suddenly Runt went wide eyed and ducked down, he cupped his paws over his face and shook with fear. The large dog was completely terrified of speaking.

"It's those dogs, those 3 dogs, those scarlet doggies. I don't think there nice doggies, definitely not nice at all" Runt sniffled.

Rita's green eyes sparkled like radiant jewels, her silver fur glistened in the golden rays of the sun as it sank into the horizon. Rita couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"The Scarlet Angels, Not nice? Runt, these gals are giving us top notch cuisine on a silver platter, there going to keep us from starving to death. What makes you think their not nice anyway?" Rita asked, crossed her small gray arms.

"I don't know why, I just got a feeling Rita, a bad feeling. Something in my tummy says there definitely not nice dogs. They always talk about you really quiet like, they look at you funny, and I definitely think they don't like me……definitely don't" Runt said.

Rita sighed "Runt, I won't lie to you. At times you're not the easiest ball of string to play around with, but there's nothing wrong with you big guy, nothing at all. These angel girls just need some time to let you grow on them. Besides, don't forget were a team, I got your tail and you got mine, right big guy?".

Those warm words brought a charmed smile to Runt's face, he nodded to her and gave Rita a big fat bear hug.

"Ugh" Rita groaned.

"Oh boy Rita, you're a real good dog, definitely a _real_ good dog" Runt said.

"Glad to be of service……now……could you stop crushing my ribs?" Rita squeaked.

"Oops, sorry Rita, I got excited" Runt laughed as gently released Rita.

The small cat sighed a breath of fresh air as she felt more relaxed, Rita smiled sweetly to Runt and gently rubbed his red fur like hair. The sweet singing cat hopped onto Runt's back as they continued their journey to their withered, cardboard box bed in the alleys.

"So, feel better?" Rita asked.

"Yup, definitely feel better Rita. I just want you to be happy and I guess I was kind of nervous around those new dogs. Yeah, definitely nervous" Runt said.

"There upper class, were not at their level yet, so it's natural they'd seem kind of distant from us. But soon rover we'll be living the life we've always dreamed about, together" Rita said.

"Yeah……together" Runt warmly replied.

The dog's smiling face lit up at mentioning of the word "together", as if finding a warm home and fresh food didn't even matter to Runt. The only thing Runt seemed to care about was just being with Rita. Doesn't matter where, doesn't matter how, Rita was all Runt was living for.

Later that night……

"_AH! Look it was just an accident, I swear, I didn't even put my paws on it" Rita pleaded._

_A ferocious shadow of a man towered over the small cat like a monster. The dark man screamed as he slammed his foot into a small, blue colored bed. Rita gulped as the man smacked a rolled up newspaper in his bound hands._

"_You were told to stay OFF the couch, now get over here right now or else" the man yelled._

"_Awe come on, big guy, buddy, compadre, it's me, Rita, your little furry angel. Don't you remember when you called me that? Huh?" Rita begged._

_The man slammed the newspaper into Rita's cheeks, the cat whimpered in pain as she was hurled across the room. Rita grunted and rubbed her deeply bruised white cheek._

"_Guess he has amnesia" Rita painfully joked._

_The man stormed over to Rita and yanked her up by her sensitive ears; the small silver cat winced as her fumbling paws tried to break free. Rita's grass green eyes widened in horror as the man pulled a Swiss army knife from his pocket._

"_Looks like you got a hearing problem my little Rita, but don't worry, I can fix that" the man said._

_Rita's eyes bulged out of their sockets, she screamed and hissed in fear as the man brought the knife toward the ear clutched in his hands. Tears poured from Rita's eyes._

"_No please, I promise I'll never go on the couch again, I swear" Rita begged._

_The man growled and sliced the blade at Rita's held ear._

Rita screamed "AHHHHHHHHH".

The cat's sweat flustered cheeks dripped with small droplets of fresh, heated sweat. Rita's eyes couldn't have been bigger, she felt like her heart had just died and got jolted back to life. The sweet feline panted and gently placed her paws on her shaking head. Rita breathed in and out, slowly exhaling as she calmed herself.

Rita sighed "Man what a nightmare, that's one Kodak moment I sure wouldn't mind forgetting. Sorry if I woke you Runt, I just……Runt?".

The cat's curious cut ears twitched as Rita suddenly realized that Runt was no where to be found. Rita's snow white paws inched around but felt nothing, no big ball of warm fur, no big husky dog body suffocating her as usual, nothing. A look of panic started to tremble over Rita's wounded face as she started to frantically search for Runt.

"Wow, you really think so mister human? That doesn't sound like Rita, definitely, definitely doesn't sound like Rita" a familiar voice said.

Rita's eyes and ears shined and perked up as that friendly sounding voice rang like church bells to her cut ears. The small gray cat rushed her pouncing paws down the alleyway to the right of their box home, Rita stopped as she spotted Runt looking to the side. It appeared the smiling dog was actually talking to someone.

"Runt, what in the world are you doing you crazy mutt? You nearly gave me a heart attack looking for you" Rita said.

"Oh hi Rita. I couldn't sleep, yeah, definitely not tired" Runt happily said.

"Well then who were you talking to?" Rita asked.

"That nice human that gave us the dough nuts" Runt said.

"WHAT?" Rita gasped.

The serenading cat quickly darted out and gazed her shocked emerald eyes to find Runt's mysterious human companion. Rita sighed as she only saw darkness, and cold shadows stretched across the city's barren streets.

"You must have been dreaming too Runt, because I don't see anyone. Besides, there's no way you could have been talking to a human, they can't understand our words" Rita said.

Suddenly Rita blinked as she spotted a shadowy human turning into the darkness of the night. The cat's small furry paws rubbed her emerald eyes clean of any sleepy eye crumbs, and stared directly at the vanishing human. Runt was right, it was the same human. The mysterious man with the silver suit and the spiky, dark blue hair. The man looked right at Rita, just like he did in the park, and he shook his head gravely at her.

"Who is that human?" Rita asked.

The man turned his purple colored eyes towards the darkness of the night before vanishing into it. Rita groaned and figured she was just too tired and started to see things, she flickered her paws in the air and motioned for Runt to come back to bed with her. The happy animal duo slowly strolled back to their cardboard box bed.

Runt smiled "I told you he was there Rita. Ho boy he sure is a nice human, definitely nice".

Rita yawned "Yeah, yeah, humans understanding animals is just another indication that you need more sleep. It can't happen Runt, it's just not possible".

Runt shrugged "Uh okay, whatever you say Rita".

Rita smirked "But just out of curiosity, and I assure you it won't kill me, what did you and Mr. Sparkling personality back there talk about anyway?".

Runt replied "We talked about you Rita".

Rita gasped out loud "Say WHAT?".

Runt nodded "Yeah, he talked about you and I told him what a good dog you are, definitely a good dog. But the human said you were going to do something that isn't very nice to me Rita, something not nice at all".

Rita blinked "Not nice, to you? Like what?".

Runt chuckled "Don't know, definitely don't know. I told him though that you're a good dog Rita and you'd never do something not nice to me, definitely never. Good night Rita".

The small cat simply nodded to Runt's cheerful good night praise, his words still ringing eerily in Rita's small and confused little mind. The gray cat had no idea who that human was or what he meant by those words IF he actually said those words at all. All Rita knows is that staying alive is what's important right now, and that is all that matters. Rita curled her little gray body up to Runt's and slowly went back to sleep, shaking a little.

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To be continued……


	8. Hit and Run

**Hit and Run**

The black hands of the large, pearl colored clock clanged loudly, it was now 10o'clock.

10 at night……

The dark twisting steam that fogged up the rocky shadows of the alleyway billed up like a choking cloud of smoke. The sputtering sparks of the neon café light was the only source of light down the seedy trail of stone and concrete. It was near closing time for this street café, and it was meeting time for the Scarlet Angels. Fran's, dirty dark paws scampered over some shimmering trash can lips as she hopped down to the ground.

"It's about time you showed up" Iris said.

The commanding cat said as she exited from the shadows, her multicolored eyes glaring an enraged, raised eyebrow at her late friend's arrival. Cheryl scoffed bitterly alongside Iris.

"Indeed, where have you been? I could be doing something useful by now, like licking my paws clean" Cheryl chuckled.

"Stuff it puff ball, your already spoiled rotten as it is, we don't need any more stupid prissy primpy remarks from the peanut gallery. I was just making sure those two suckers were on their way" Fran said.

"Well are they?" Iris demanded.

The orange, frizzy whiskered cat nodded.

"Good, looks like the squirt is dead serious about this" Iris said.

"But she's just a temp, that stupid little Rita must be eating some tainted mice if she thinks we'd ever let a rat like her into our club. We sure do seem to be going to an awful lot of trouble just for this" Cheryl said, yawning.

The dark green cat, Iris snarled and took a swipe of her razor sharp claws towards the white-collar fur of Cheryl. The puffy, prissy cat squealed and quickly ducked out of the claws way. Iris snarled hatefully with her multicolored eyes glaring into Cheryl's.

"NEVER question my orders, and that goes for you too Francis" Iris said.

"It's Fran NOT Francis" Fran snapped back.

The green cat groaned "Oh shut up and listen. I've got everything planned out, so you just follow my instructions no questions asked. We can't use Rita as long as that mongoloid mutt of hers is hanging around her. So, were going to convince her that he's more trouble then he's worth and make her get rid of him for us".

Fran smirked "Sounds perfect, so what's the plan?".

As the 3 sinister cats began whispering their devious little plan, Rita and Runt turned the corner and strolled happily down the alleyway. Cheryl gasped and nudged Iris with her puffy white elbow. Iris and Fran turned to see Rita and Runt, smiling brightly and cheerfully, but most importantly, ignorantly.

Iris smiled "Oh how wonderful, you made it, I was worried you weren't going to show".

Rita smirked "Me, miss a chance to be a part of the greatest team that ever meowed? Ha, fat chance sister. I haven't had much to sing about lately but this really is the big one".

Iris nodded "I'm sure it is sweetie, I'm sure it is".

Runt simply smiled and shook his head, nodding and answering when he was called upon. The goofy dog however didn't say much otherwise. Runt's face clearly showed signs of distress and concern, everything about this plan with this cat gang made Runt nervous from top to tail. The red headed dog had butterflies in his stomach and they only felt worse as he followed Rita up to where the other cats were standing.

Iris smirked "Okay Rita and uh……company. Here's the scoop, this café' here sells the best desert pies, cream soup, and fresh French bread on the whole block. The joint always closes at 10:30 but the chef likes to get ready ahead of schedule to close up. Right now, he's in the dining area and putting all the chairs and tables away, he'll be there for the rest of the night. The kitchen will be left unguarded for us to clean out in the meantime".

Rita nodded "Music to my ears".

Runt added "I definitely like music, especially jazz, jazz makes my ears tickle, definitely tickled".

Iris groaned and simply rubbed her strained whiskers with her dark brown paw, Rita laughed nervously and quietly elbowed Runt to keep it down.

"We enter using pattern formation Y. Fran will sneak in and see if the coast is clear, once were in the green, you, Runt, and I will follow and start cracking open the fridge. You'll hand Runt the food to set outside for us to carry out. Meanwhile, Cheryl and Fran will serve as look outs and make sure we don't capture the chef's attention" Iris said.

All of the positions had been set and all of the plans had been made, the 4 cats and 1 dog nodded in agreement before splitting up and preparing to initiate their plan. Little did Rita or Runt know that the 3 mischievous cat "angels" had already prepared a second plan. Fran scampered off towards the backdoor of the café, she flexed razor sharp claws from her dark brown paws and quickly used them as lock picks on the door's handle. A clicking sound was heard and the door opened. Fran quickly snuck inside the café.

Cheryl nervously curled her puffy white tail around her snow-white body as she awaited Fran's signal. The orange cat flashed a thumb up with her paw, Iris and Cheryl looked at each other before nodding and heading into the kitchen area. Rita and Runt closely followed to the 2 cats. Iris green colored fur flashed into a snickering smile as the large, mountain like refrigerator stood tauntingly before her multicolored cat eyes.

"Jackpot ladies and……dog. Now, everyone get to your stations and do it quietly and carefully, one wrong move and that human that will turn us into furry punching bags" Iris ordered.

Fran and Cheryl moved to the gray, towering swaying kitchen doors with a circular porthole like viewing circle at the top of each door. Iris flexed her paws on the top counter next to the fridge. Rita and Runt remain still and active below Iris, their paws and arms opening up to accept the food Iris was planning to send down.

"Ready when you are" Rita said.

Iris nodded and smirked, Runt sighed at that smile and simply swallowed back his nagging sense of fear, no matter how strong it felt. The multicolored eyes of Iris flashed brightly as she opened the fridge door and started tossing down chunks of food down to Rita and Runt. Rita would take the food and slide it down Runt's backline like a processing plant. Runt's big white hind paws kicked up each time food slid down his back. The large dog smiled as he kicked the food back outside into the alleyway.

Roast hams, soup cans, sandwiches, soda cans, lettuce heads, and even egg cartons. The Scarlet angels were robbing the café clean of any kind of food they could get their paws on. Rita smiled as she watched Iris work, her furry lips almost drooling as the fridge was down to only a handful of leftover items.

"Pfft! I hate all this waiting pish posh, why can't we just do it now?" Cheryl whispered.

"Stuff it cream puff we've got to wait for the signal" Fran sneered back.

The two mangy cats watched Iris as she continued to pass food down onto Rita and Runt, suddenly Iris's long green tail twitched and curled in the shape of a small round ball.

"Now" both female cats said sinisterly in union.

Fran's orange fur puffed out as she dug one of her paw claws into it, searching and scrounging for something. A spark came to the dark eyes of that orange tabby as Fran removed a red, rubber ball. Iris had just handed Rita the last bit of food from the fridge, Runt was just about to lower his head so he could let Rita down.

"There both going to get an eyeful once they see THIS" Fran silently snickered.

Runt's soft, innocent looking eyes widened as Fran suddenly slammed the red ball right into his eyes. The dog screamed and howled in pain as he lifted his paws up in a stomping like motion. Rita shrieked as she grasped her snow-white paws onto Runt's back, she screamed as Runt went wild, blinded by the ball and charging around everywhere.

"AHHHH, Runt! What are you doing? Cut it out, RIGHT NOW" Rita shouted.

"I can't see Rita, I can't see, definitely can't see" Runt pleaded.

Iris smirked as she watched the dog freak out and lose total control of his wild animal behaviors. The white cat Cheryl was giggling her evil little chuckles behind a spice rack, which she proceeded to shove her back against and slowly tip the rack off the kitchen wall and right onto the ground.

CRASH!

The spices shattered loudly and spilt all over the floor. Rita screamed and held her gray head in annoyance, how could things possibly be worse she thought. Suddenly Runt's wounded eyes painfully pride themselves back open. Fran's orange body came scrambling out of the main hall, Runt gasped as he spotted the enraged chef human chasing after her.

"What was that grumpy orange doggie doing in there?" Runt thought to himself.

The chef immediately halted and screamed as he spotted the animals raiding over his food supplies like maggots to a rotting corpse.

"Filthy little rodents, that's my business you're swiping. Come over here so I can rip your little tails off and use them for pot spoons" the chef shouted.

Frantic fur flew into the air like shivering puffballs of spiked cat fur. The chef's white, grease stained shirt flexed as he grabbed a rolling pin and started swinging it like a bat towards Fran and Cheryl. The two furry females sprinted their dirt scrounging paws into high gear, Runt and Rita were shoved out of the way by Cheryl and Fran as they escaped. Runt gasped as the 2 had just ditched them so coldly. The raging chef roared and crunched the rolling pin in front of Runt's paws, Rita screamed and Runt turned to run.

The chef's boiling red eyes were just about to close in indescribable rage when his flustered cheeks suddenly flexed into a smile. Iris was still hopping down from pots and pans and stepstools, she had been spotted by the chef while she was half way down from the counter.

"Oh bugger" Iris groaned.

The chef tossed his rolling pin right at Iris, it smashed into her green furry back and forced her to drop to the ground in pain. The green cat's anguished cries of pain screamed out into the open door to the alleyway. Cheryl's cloud white fur bristled brightly as she poked her head out from the alleyway and leaned in to grab Iris's fallen body.

"White doggie, look out" Runt shouted.

The chef angrily slammed a metal soup ladle across Cheryl's face, she squeaked, a mousy cry of pain as her left eye had become painfully bruised. Runt made sure Rita was holding on tight as he flushed his 4 paws into full gear. The chef raised the metal ladle up once more and prepared to deliver a second/finishing blow. In a flash of light brown fur and red, frazzled hair, Runt snatched up Cheryl and Iris in his jaws and ran outside. The chef grabbed the next nearest object he could find, a razor sharp butcher knife.

Fran and Rita screamed as the chef ferociously followed them out back to the alleyways, and started slashing the gleaming blade towards their furry hides. The cat gang had no choice but to leave the food and Runt carried, Rita, Cheryl, and Iris away from the chef and more importantly, away from their dinner. Runt continued husking his heavy body across town for a few minutes until he was sure that he and Rita could safely stop.

"He's gone, definitely, definitely gone. Everything is all right now." Runt said.

The dog smiled as he felt loads better, feeling relieved and satisfied that he managed to safe Rita and her fellow female feline friends so quickly. Runt tilted his shaggy head around and was surprised to find a trio of stern, scowling faces. A cranky, bent looking Iris grabbed a smashed tuna can off the ground and violently hurled it at Runt's head. Runt cried out as the can struck him, he whimpered and stared confusedly at Iris.

"You IDIOT, do you have any idea what you've just done?" Iris shouted.

"Uh, saved you from the nasty human person?" Runt asked.

"You just cost us our meal ticket you sorry sack of fur, you ruined EVERYTHING! The Scarlet angels have never failed to complete a mission in over five years and now you just ripped that record apart Benji for brains" Iris hissed.

The confused dog shrugged his paws and stared nervously at the 3 glaring cats, Runt's light brown fur was getting chills and shivers from the cat's hateful eyes. Runt really did not know what he had done. Rita frowned and crossed her paws firmly.

"No more playing dumb Runt, we all know it was you" Rita said.

"B-b-b-but Rita, something hit my eye, I was blind, definitely blind. I couldn't see what was going on" Runt said.

"Come on Runt; give me a little more credit than that. You were shaking as if your tail was on fire and all that commotion you caused brought that human into the kitchen. We could have been stuffing our face with pies and pastries by now but YOU had to blow it" Rita said.

The red haired dog whimpered and hang his furry head in deep sorrow; his whimpering voice trembled with soft sounds of sadness. Runt did not know how to explain what happened or what he thought he saw minutes before they were chased out.

"Rita but it wasn't me that brought the human, honest. I saw that orange doggie Frannie come with the human chasing her, I definitely saw that Rita" Runt pleaded.

The gray cat sighed "Enough Runt, I'm not listening to anymore of this. You've got a serious problem and I think it's high time we fix it before".

Fran butted in "You're out of the club Rita".

"WHAT?" Rita shouted.

Rita's horrified emerald eyes widened like sparkling emeralds in the pale light of the full moon. Iris, Fran, and Cheryl stood paw to paw and kept their hole burning stares firmly locked on Rita's small, furry gray form. Rita was devastated to hear this news.

"But I've only been a member for one night, please, you can't do this" Rita said.

"And you have been on very thin ice SINCE we made you a member, we all suspected you were a disaster waiting to happen and tonight we knew we were right" Iris said.

Rita just stared at them blankly. The young female cat was very confused; Rita begged them to explain.

Cheryl smirked "Don't you see? It's that stinking dog friend of yours; he's ruined everything we've tried to accomplish tonight and then some".

Rita replied "No, no, really you guys, it was just an accident. Runt's a good dog and these things just happen, it's really not all his fault".

Fran growled "Shove it you little lint ball, you blew your audition the second you showed up to practice with that dog. Were called the Scarlet angels, NOT the scarlet angels and their lassie lackey. We don't allow dogs in or involved in our gang in any way, shape or form, and the fact you brought this dim beast into our circle is even more insulting".

Cheryl nodded, smiling "She's right you know. If it wasn't for Runt we wouldn't be sporting these little beauty marks, and we certainly wouldn't be going to bed without supper either, now would we Rita?".

The confused and conflicted Rita couldn't believe what her small pink-skinned ears were hearing, her mind was racing with confusion. As much as she knew Runt made a mistake, she can't believe there actually punishing her for his actions when she didn't even do anything! Rita looked at Runt and then looked frightfully towards Iris's multicolored eyes.

"Please you guys, don't make me do this, me and Runt have been together a long time and I swear that he didn't mean to do this" Rita begged.

"That's right Rita, it definitely, definitely wasn't my fault, that orange doggie was being chased by the human first. The orange doggie brought the human in, I saw it" Runt said.

"UGH! That does it. That stupid mongrel of yours has gone too far. Screwing up is one thing, but making horrible, false accusations over a founding member is a serious penalty. However, because YOU are a cat, I'm willing to give you one last chance to stay with us. Do this favor for me and all will be forgiven and you will remain on the team" Iris said.

Rita frantically nodded, her white paws cupped like a small prayer as she agreed.

"Oh you gals are angels in fur coats, you won't regret this. So, what do I have to do?" Rita asked.

"Dump the dog" the cat trio said in union.

"No Rita" Runt silently whispered.

Rita's emerald eyes shined with sparkling drops of tears, she couldn't believe what she just heard. The gray cat curiously looked to Runt's face before turning back to the gang.

"This is your last chance you little squirt, I am after all doing you a BIG favor. Unless you want to wander around these streets with this stupid mutt, and starve yourself to sleep for the rest of your pathetic little life, you have to make a choice, right here and right now. It's the dog or us. So then Rita, who's it gonna be?" Iris asked.

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To be continued……


	9. I Choose

**I Choose**

Author: Hey everyone, thanks for reading and enjoying my story so far but before you continue this chapter, I ask you to be aware of something. I know a lot of you are probably going to say that Rita isn't going to act "authentic" in this chapter because of how she acts here. I just want you guys to know that I did my best to keep everyone in character and to make this scene as authentically close to how Rita would react were she in such a situation. I know some of you will probably disagree, but, I felt this is how Rita would act considering all the pressure she's been under. Plus, it's necessary for the story.Now that that's out of the way, I'll stop yakking and let you get back to the story, enjoy!

It was so cold……so dark……so empty tonight……

These were the feelings racing in Rita's tiny, confused little mind, these were the scattered thoughts of a lonely, scared little cat. The rest of the world seemed to vanish and fade away in the jade green eyes of Rita, the gray cat.

Why you ask?

In one moment, Rita's life has been forced to split into two choices: her life or her friends. Ironically, her two choices had characteristics of both. Rita must now choose between living a healthier, cleaner, and better life by joining with the Scarlet Angels, or, remain loyal to her best friend Runt and continue her future with him.

As simple as the choice may seem, Rita could scarcely begin to imagine what she would do.

"Can you guys give us a few minutes in private?" Rita asked.

The sinister trio of female cats smirked and nodded to Rita, but not before giving each other a sly wink and a cackling grin.

"Whatever you say Rita……I know you'll make the _right_ decision" Iris said.

Rita blinked as Iris gave a flicker of those dual colored eyes of hers before heading off into the shadows along with Fran and Cheryl. Runt's little tail wagged curiously, as he stared at Rita. The small cat was slumped and slouching, her eyes staring dreadfully down and unable to do anything but blink and sigh. Rita and Runt were now completely alone.

"Rita please, I'm telling you I'm sorry, I'm definitely sorry but I didn't do it on purpose. Something happened I swear Rita" Runt pleaded.

"Stop Runt, just stop okay? I can't take this anymore. My mind has been slipping away these past few nights and it's driving me nuts. I don't know what to do, what's right, what's wrong, or what I'm even looking for anymore" Rita said.

Runt whimpered and nuzzled his feline friend as she cradled her aching cranium. Rita sighed; she lifted her paws up and gently pushed Runt aside.

"No, not this time Runt. As much as it hurts me to do this, it has to be done. I know this is the wrong choice and I know I'll feel awful inside but I can't chance my life for a friend. Even……even a truly wonderful friend." Rita said.

Runt gasped "But Rita".

Rita interrupted "I said NO! Can't you see what's happening Runt? I need to LIVE, and I need to eat to live and as long as I am with you, my food supply is becoming a liability I can't afford to risk".

The dog blinked "Liability?".

Rita sighed "Please don't Runt, you don't understand. You're probably better off not knowing anyway".

"But Rita I'm a good dog, I always try real hard, definitely real hard and I want you to be happy definitely happy" Runt said.

"Then be happy for me now, accept my decision and just go on Runt. I'm not happy about this anymore then you are but its do or die and this cat is a survivor" Rita said.

The small gray feline started to turn around and her paws gently bounced against the cold, dark streets of the alley. Runt's eyes suddenly bulged out as he began to growl savagely.

"A cat? Where's a cat? Where's a cat? GRR" Runt snarled.

Rita's angrily grabbed her small gray ears and screamed as she turned around.

"Oh shut up Runt. I'M THE CAT. God, why is this so hard for you to compute? I am a cat, cat, cat, CAT" Rita snapped.

"B-b-b-but Rita no you're a dog, a good dog" Runt insisted.

"Wake up and smell the dog food, I'm a cat you goof. I meow, I drink milk, I chase mice, and I got a long tail. I am a cat and it's that same problem that's making me want to leave Runt" Rita said.

"I just don't understand Rita though, what did I do wrong?" Runt asked.

"Everything. You mess things up, and one screw up is one too many in this kind of town. I cannot depend my life on a dog who can't even keep it together for 5 stinking minutes. I can't trust you, I can't depend on you and therefore, I can't stay with you" Rita shouted.

Runt frowned, the dog was actually starting to get angry and started to stand up more firmly. Rita simply frowned and crossed her arms.

"I told you Rita, it wasn't my fault. That orange doggie is the one who lead the human and something hit my eye, definitely something" Runt replied.

"Don't feed me that garbage again Runt, this decision is tearing me up inside and this is the last thing I need to hear. Even if what you say is true, the Scarlet Angels are a guarantee thing. I need them" Rita hissed.

"I am definitely telling you Rita, those scarlet doggies are going to hurt you. They are definitely not nice, not nice at all" Runt said.

"When did you become such a judge of character? You don't even know what species I am for crying out loud. Furthermore, you can't even realize a good deal when it's shoved right in front of your face" Rita said.

"I don't trust them Rita and I definitely don't think you should either" Runt continued to insist.

Rita snarled and slashed her claws against a soda can, chopping it up and kicking its cracked innards across the floor.

"Why are they such a threat to you? Are you really so jealous you can't even tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys?" Rita asked.

"Are you?" Runt snapped back.

The silver cat gasped and took a step back, her jade eyes were caught off guard and widened at the shock that was overcoming them. Rita's furry white cheeks curled into a bitter snarl as she turned her hate-filled eyes away from Runt for good. The dog suddenly realized what he just sounded like and rushed to Rita, he gently nibbled on her tail and tried to stop her from walking away.

"Please Rita, I'm sorry, I so definitely sorry" Runt said, tears falling.

"Go chase a bone" Rita growled.

"Rita, I'm really, really, really definitely sorry Rita. Please we had so much fun together. Egypt, France, Poland, Transylvania, please don't forget Rita" Runt begged.

"I said let me go" Rita said, starting to struggle.

No matter what Rita said or did, Runt refused to let her go. If only Rita knew how precious and loved, she was in Runt's big heart. The small cat had no idea, no idea just how much she meant to her canine companion, and how much this was tearing him up inside to be fighting like this.

"I said let go of me you……you……_**STUPID DOG**_" Rita screamed.

Runt's jaws gasped as he released her tail, his eyes beginning to burst with crystal blue tears. The dog gently stepped back as he simply watched Rita turn around and viciously scream at him.

Rita screamed. "You happy now? You happy I finally told you that you furry sap? I'm so sick of your stupid, sunshine flavored attitude Runt. You're too stupid to realize what a cruel place the world is, how everyone is miserable and despicable to each other. There are no real friends, no real family members, and real no loved ones, they just haven't turned on you yet. Case in point, when we first met we made a pact to split once we each found good homes to live in.

Well, I've got a home, it's with the Scarlet Angels and as long as I am with them, I have a future in this world Runt. The deal is over and so is our friendship now do me and the world a favor and get lost".

Without another word said, Runt simply let the tears stroll down his furry cheeks as he turned away and vanished into the darkness. The once cheerful dog was now reduced to heartache and sorrow. Runt's big eyes stared at Rita before disappearing along with the rest of him, never to be seen or heard of again……or so Rita hoped. The small cat sighed out loud.

"Great job there squirt, I always knew you had it in you" Iris said.

Rita turned around to see the mangy, snickering alley cat trio standing right in front of her.

"Then why do I feel so disgusted with myself?" Rita thought to herself.

Rita sniffled a bit as she wiped her pink nose clean with her snow-white paws. Iris purred as she rubbed her mangy green fur against Rita's back.

"You did the right thing. That slobbering oaf was just holding you back, you'd have starved to death if you stayed any longer with him" Iris said.

Fran smirked "Just as promised, all peccadilloes are forgiven and forgotten, your back on the team Rita".

Cheryl giggled "Congratulations, you made the right choice sweetie".

The small gray cat was too busy staring at her white paws to register a valid response, Rita sighed and just nodded along. Iris smirked and wrapped one of her fowl dark black paw arms around Rita's furry shoulders. Rita blinked as she was jerked into staring right into Iris's twin colored eyes.

"Don't be so glum chum, you're one of us again. Isn't that what you wanted?" Iris asked.

"Well yeah but" Rita nervously said.

"Tell you what I'm gonna do. Because you did such a good job ditching dog boy, I'm going to treat you to a super special celebration fishy buffet. You, me, the girls, were gonna eat like pigs with whiskers and you'll feel good as new. I promise" Iris said proudly.

Rita smiled a little and wiped her eyes clean of tears, nodding a bit more confidently.

Iris smirked "Yes siree, I guarantee you a dinner party that you will _never _forget".

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To be continued……


	10. Life of an Angel

**The life of an Angel**

Rita, Cheryl, and Fran sat in a semi-circle around a rusty colored trash can. Their emerald colored leader, Iris, lay perched upon the can like a podium. The glistening multicolored eyes of the towering green feline loomed like a jaded shadow across the 3 serving felines.

"In gratitude for her amazing services and inspiring examples of loyalty and dedication, it is with great pleasure that I, Iris of the Scarlet Angels, welcome back our newest member Rita into the fold once again. Congratulations Rita" Iris said.

Cheryl and Fran chuckled as they politely elbowed Rita; she grunted and smiled feeling the nagging tug of Fran's orange furry arm draped around her neck. Rita laughed nervously and continued to bit her lip in sadness. That memory of Runt, it was still burning painfully in her eyes.

"You showed guts cutting off that dog boy toy of yours Rita, most would have wussed out you know" Fran said.

"Good god, I'm a monster, those……those _horrible_ things I said to him" Rita whispered.

Cheryl giggled, "Oh don't be such a wet blanket. Your feeling homesick from him now but once you get a taste of how things work around here, you're going to look back on this decision and be proud of yourself for taking it".

Despite all the praise, partying, and pristine words of food to come, the look of misery and woe carved the saddened features of Rita's furry face. The gray cat was obviously still upset over what happened with Runt. Iris frowned as she scratched her chin fur with her black paws, wondering if Rita is having second thoughts. The angel leader snapped her claws and tossed something out towards Rita. Rita's curious jade eyes looked down and saw a half cut fish.

"Holy moley" Rita gasped.

"An appetizer before the big feast dearie, enjoy. You've earned a little special treatment" Iris said.

Sparkling stars shined vibrantly in the once mystified and misery filled green eyes of the sweet singing cat known as Rita. The gray feline munched her tiny little cat fangs into the fishy feats, moaning and purring as she enjoyed every chunk of the fish's flavored meat.

"Gee, I bet Runt would have loved to taste this" Rita thought to herself.

"You've got to be kidding me" Fran said, grinding her teeth.

Rita blinked as she saw red, angry veins sprouting all over Fran's orange furry body. The mangy alley cat was practically shooting steam out of those bent whiskers of hers. Cheryl nervously chuckled as she forcefully shoved Fran away from Rita and back towards Iris on the podium trash can. Rita raised a curious eyebrow as it looked like Fran was having a nervous breakdown.

"Ha, ha, nothing to see here, nope, nothing at all. You just enjoy your dinner me and FRAN need to have a little girl talk" Cheryl said.

Munching back onto her beloved fish, Rita just shrugged it off and continued to enjoy her little scaly meal. Fran and Cheryl on the other hand seemed to have some serious issues to work out behind the garbage can. Iris groaned as she hopped down and glared at the 2 felines, her dark and dirty paws crossed firmly across her chest.

"What the frick do you two think you're doing? You're going to ruin everything" Iris snapped.

Cheryl pouted "It's all HER fault; Frannie started going ballistic for no reason at all".

Fran snapped back "It's FRAN you walking feather duster, how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me Frannie?".

Cheryl smirked "Well we could always go back to calling you Francis you know?".

The orange, frizzled kitty screamed as she leapt towards Cheryl's white throat. Iris groaned as she forced her way into the middle and shoved the two cats apart. The cat leader bopped both frisky felines on the top of their heads and told them to keep it down.

"Now what's all this about anyway?" Iris asked.

"You gave her my special tropical trout side dish. I was saving that for a special occasion you know, and now that pipsqueak is eating it" Fran whined.

"Oh stick a yarn ball in it you nag. What do you have to complain about, I'm the one who got whacked by that filthy human's cooking tools just to make the dog look like a fool. Do you know how many make up pads I had to swipe to look this pretty?" Cheryl said.

"That's enough from both of you. The good news is the hard part is gone, we convinced Rita to dump Runt so now we can finally get to the fun part" Iris said, grinning.

Fran sighed "Oh all right then, what's the plan boss?".

Iris replied "It's simple really, it's time Rita learned the meaning of the word teamwork. We all had to suffer from that little stunt at the restaurant, even if it was our idea, it still had to be done. Now all we have to do is take Rita out for that special dinner I promised her and all will be made clear".

Cheryl, Iris, and Fran curiously peeked their heads from the side of the can to see what Rita was doing. The small gray cat had finished her meal and was now giving herself a quick bath.

Iris cackled "It's a brilliant plan and the best part of it is, were going to get a free meal with nary a scrape or scratch to speak of, all thanks to our newest member: Rita".

10 minutes of walking later……

The 4 cats arrived at the back end of a very special sushi restaurant. Golden colored lights shine brightly from the crisp clean windows of the customer's private booths, flashing neon signs of a chef chopping up a fish sparkled like wildfire, and the scent of fresh fish being cooked and doused with spices, flavorings, and sauces made even the most resilient of feline's water with hunger. The door opened and a chef with fresh grease stains on his apron tossed out a chunk of rotten seaweed. The cats looked at each other and smiled a most devilishly pleased smile.

"Maybe things aren't going to be so bad after all" Rita thought to herself.

As Rita's fractured little mind started to embrace the happiness of such a fantastic discovery, little did she know her female, feline heroes were plotting. Cheshire smiles behind her back. Iris and Fran flashed each other a winking smile as Cheryl curled her puffy white tail under Rita's chin to get her attention.

"Okay Rita dear, here's the plan, I'm going to go round front and grab those humans eyeballs for a few minutes while you, Iris, and Fran raid the kitchen for all their fishy treasures. We need you to make sure you get ALL the food out of the kitchen and into the alley BEFORE the human's return, so you better work fast" Cheryl said.

"Piece of cake cotton tail, I'll head in first and make with the shaking and bacon before you can say Hello Nurse. I want to prove to you guys you made the right decision" Rita said, nodding.

"Good idea Rita, good idea indeed" Cheryl replied.

As the cats began to split and camper amongst the sides of the surging sushi restaurant, Cheryl made her way to the entrance while Rita, Fran, and Iris rolled around to the back. The front doors suddenly burst open as the white, fluffy cat appeared with open arms and a smirking smile.

"TA DA" Cheryl beamed.

A woman screamed as the cat hissed towards her high-heeled shoes, she jumped back next to her date. One of the waiters gasped and shouted for the head chef. An enraged, black bearded man with a frying pan stormed out as he snarled.

"Not another one. You ain't getting away from me this time you flea bag, COME HERE!" the chef screamed.

Cheryl and the chef went into a frenzy like dash, circling around as the two chased each other. Meanwhile Rita had already made her way into the kitchen and was wrapping her paws around chunks of chopped fish bits and fresh fish meat. Fran and Iris remained outside in the alleyway, catching the fish and dropping it into a large pile. Eventually, the fridge and the tables were down to mere table scraps, and Rita had nearly cleaned out the entire restaurant.

"Say, what's that?" Rita asked.

Something familiar both in scent and in sight caught her jasmine green eyes, Rita reached down and gently pulled up the tail end of a fancy looking trout. The gray cat smiled and gently nibbled on the fins of the proudly caught fish.

"Tropical trout, just like the one Fran gave me. Boy (sniffle) I bet Runt would have done a back flip to taste something like this" Rita said.

Warm-hearted memories poured into Rita's mind, as the smiling, slobbering face of her canine friend appeared vividly in her thoughts. Rita giggled a bit.

"I think I'll send him half, to make up for those rotten things I said to him. He's a good guy, really, he is, and we can still be friends at least. Yeah, it looks like things are looking up" Rita said proudly.

SLAM!

Rita's half cut ears perked up at that sound, the cat looked behind her and saw the exit door to the alleyway was suddenly closed. Rita quickly rushed to the door and pressed her snow-white paws up against it, but it didn't move.

"Uh guys? Guys? Hey I think the door's stuck" Rita said.

The silver little cat hopped up onto the nearest counter to the door and peeked through the window, Rita continued to shout for her friends as she banged her paws on the door. However, what Rita saw, was not something she was prepared for. The door has been blocked off by a large stack of silver trashcans. The cans were pressed right up against the door, as if blocking Rita off from the door.

"Hey, guys, guys, GUYS! There's something blocking the door, it looks like a few trashcans fell over or something. I need you to" Rita suddenly stopped.

Much to the small cat's horror, she found out how the cans got there. Fran, Iris, and even Cheryl were sitting on top of the can lids, the stolen stash of fish foods lodged firmly under their furry armpits. The 3 female cats snickered and laughed, waving to Rita as if saying goodbye to her. Rita swallowed hard and shook her head in confusion; she couldn't believe what was happening.

"I……I……I don't understand" Rita stuttered.

Rita looked down and she saw Cheryl, reaching up and pointing towards something behind Rita. A horrible realization came to Rita's mind as her emerald eyes widened up like a pair of rising suns.

"Wait a minute. If Cheryl is out there then who's distracting the EEP" Rita squeaked.

The snarling, red-faced chef glared hatefully at Rita, a series of bulging veins and grinding molars greeted Rita's frightened little face. The cat gulped hard and twitched her long tail.

"Human" Rita weakly said.

"Do you know what I do with mooching scraps of vermin filth like you when I catch them?" the chef asked.

"Uh, give them a parking ticket?" Rita joked.

5 painful minutes later……

BAM!

SLAP!

CRACK!

WHAM!

CRASH!

Rita screamed as she smashed through the window of the restaurant's kitchen and slammed, face first into a brick wall. The cat whimpered as she slid off the wall like a flattened fly.

"UGH" Rita moaned.

The small cat had a black eye, cuts and scratches all along her arms and legs, burn marks on her paws, a dent from a frying pan on her back, and a tail that looked like someone used it as a toothpick. Rita weakly trembled on her aching legs as her body hurt all over. A trio of snickering, cackling voices rang loudly in the tiny feline's weary ears. Rita looked up and saw Fran, Iris, and Cheryl, laughing and mocking her as they waved the fish treats in the air like trophies.

"Way to take one for the team squirt" Fran smirked.

"Oh yes, marvelous distraction job dearie, couldn't have done it without you" Cheryl added.

"Thanks for the help Rita, hope you had fun while it lasted. We'll see ya around, HA, HA, HA" Iris said.

Rita groaned and sulked as her fractured whiskers sank miserably into an ice-cold puddle that stung her cuts and bruises. The Scarlet Angels were seen, prancing and laughing wickedly at Rita's plight as they headed off into the night, with their mighty fish haul courtesy of Rita's pain filled expense. The small cat sobbed, shaking her head.

"Oh Runt, what have I done? I KNEW this was a mistake, I knew it, I felt it in my heart. Why didn't I listen to you?" Rita thought to herself.

Weakly standing on trembling knees, Rita grunted as she tried to stand on her pain-racked paws one last time.

BAM!

_Let's talk this over,  
it's not like we're dead.  
Was it something I did?  
Was it something you said?_

_Don't leave me hanging…  
In a city so dead.  
Held up so high  
on such breakable threads._

_You were all the things I thought I knew…  
And I thought we could be._

_  
_Rita collapsed and simply buried her agonizing tears into her shaking paws, she cried her once sparkling jasmine eyes as she sobbed, sobbed, and sobbed her heart away. The small cat looked up at the stars and the moon and once again, she cried out to a voice unseen.

_You were everything, everything,  
that I wanted.  
We were meant to be, supposed to be,  
but we lost it.  
All the memories so close to me  
just fade away…  
All this time you were pretending…  
So much for my happy ending._

"You were right Runt……you were right all along……oh god (sobs)……_I'm sorry_" Rita said.

_So much for my happy ending……_

_---------- _

To be continued……


	11. Guidance

**Guidance**

Author: Hey, glad you're enjoying the story so far. I cannot thank you all enough for being so supportive of this story, it REALLY means a lot to me. Anyways I just wanted to mention that for those of you who read my DBZ stories: "Wings of Blood" and "Tears of a Forgotten tomorrow", you'll recognize a special character in here. It's the "silver suit" man. This guy is a character you will see in MANY of my fan fictions to come, he's going to pop up a lot. Anyway, that's all I wanted to say, just giving you a heads up. Bye for now, enjoy!

----------

"Oh Rita" Runt said with a heavy sigh.

The small, sweet, silver colored feline was stinging into Runt's mind like a bumblebee, striking him with fond memories and times spent with Rita. Runt frowned as he sniffed a cold, water soaked bone that was covered with muck, dirt, and hundreds of ants munching all around it.

"I miss Rita, definitely, definitely miss her" Runt said.

HONK!

A speeding car suddenly rushed by Runt, he grunted as it ran over a puddle and sent gushing amounts of ice-cold water lined with globs of dirt over his soft brown fur. Runt whimpered and shook the icy water drops off. The once cheerful dog was now reduced to tear filled whimpers, lost and lonely without a friend in the world. Runt looked up at the stars and sniffled.

"Gee Rita; I sure hope those new doggies are taking good care of you. Definitely, definitely hope so" Runt said.

_You've got your dumb friends;  
I know what they say…  
They tell you I'm difficult,  
But so are they  
But they don't know me…  
Do they even know you?  
All the things you hide from me…  
All the things that you do_

_you were all the things I thought I knew…  
And I thought we could be._

_You were everything, everything,  
that I wanted.  
We were meant to be, supposed to be,  
but we lost it.  
All the memories so close to me  
just fade away…  
All this time you were pretending…  
So much for my happy ending._

Rita's shaking legs continued to squirm and tremble, her small body seemed to weigh like a thousand pounds now, or maybe her muscles have become too weak to even stand up now. The cat winced as another freshly made cut stung deeply into her bruised paws. Rita's jasmine eyes closed back against the approaching tears, she took a big gulp and held it back.

"Now I know what road kill feels like (winces) inside and out" Rita weakly said.

The poor, heartbroken and bone broken cat was lost in a world of darkness and pain. Where am I to go now, she thought? Her so-called friends abandoned her, and Rita knew Runt would never take her in.

No……not after……those horrible things she said to him……simply horrible.

"Ugh, feels like my body's made of jello or something, I can barely take two steps without hobbling like an old geezer. Maybe it's for the best. I deserve to be dumped in the gutter after what I did to Runt, I'm no better than those stinking Scarlet angels" Rita sighed.

Rita's blurry, scarred eyes blinked into a bewildering daze as she saw a bench up ahead on the street corner. The bench was empty. The small cat wobbled her aching muscles towards that bench; her half snapped gray tail twitching weakly as Rita approached it. Suddenly Rita spotted a pair of shoes and pants near the sidewalk, and it looked like someone was in them.

"Oh don't tell me" Rita groaned.

The tiny feline annoyingly looked up and groaned as she saw a human sitting on the bench. Rita angrily rubbed her face and yanked on her tiny ears, this was the last thing Rita wanted to deal with tonight. The small cat groaned and slumped down near the human's shoes, her green eyes bitterly staring at the ground.

"Just peachy, this is JUST what I need. It's bad enough my body's been used for a punching bag and all my friends have dumped me, now I gotta sit here and watch some stinking human take my resting spot. Why not just hit me with a lightning bolt and send me to kitty heaven while you're at it God?" Rita snarled.

"God would never do anything like that to anyone my friend, and excuse me, but I'll have you know I'm quite clean and stink free" the human said.

"AHHHHH" Rita screamed.

The gray cat nearly jumped out of her skin and fur. Rita gasped and leapt towards the back of a nearby lamppost; her sulking mood seemed to disappear as she got up and backed away from the human so incredibly fast. The white fur on Rita's chest started sinking up and down, faster and faster, her jade eyes bulged out like a pair of basketballs. The man smiled at the small cat.

"YOU HEARD ME? Holy hair balls, I must be out of my noodle, I thought I just heard a human say he understood what I said" Rita gasped.

"I did" the man repeated.

"EEP" Rita turned deathly pale.

The cat tightly clutched her paws around the lamppost; her fur was shaking as if she had worms crawling under her skin. The man returned his gaze to the stars and sat there in silence. As Rita started to calm down, her eyes suddenly realized that she had seen this human before. The man was tall, clean, kind looking, hair was sharp and spiky, dark blue color, and he wore suit seemingly made entirely out of shiny silver. Rita gasped as she remembered him.

"Jumping Animaniacas, your that human who gave Runt the donuts. I saw you in the park and the alleyway a couple nights ago" Rita said.

"That is correct. My name is Taron and it's a pleasure to finally meet you Rita" Taron said.

"Back the tuna boat up pal, you've got some questions to answer. First off how do you know my name and more importantly, how come you and I understand each other?" Rita asked.

Taron smiled "I suppose you might say I'm not your ordinary human being. Matter of fact, I'm not ordinary at all, I come from a rather unique corporate background and it allows me some……shall we say unusual perks. It's a rather important profession".

Rita blinked "Corporate? You mean your job? How does your job explain how you can understand me, what the heck kind of gig do you work for?".

The mysterious, smiling silver man gently raised a hand and pointed a finger towards the sky. Rita's emerald colored orbs looked upwards and at first stared in total confusion. The tiny feline had no idea why this wacko was pointing up to the sky, she thought he must be crazy, maybe that's why he understood her. Suddenly Rita then realized what he meant by pointing into the sky. Rita gasped and gently cupped her cut paws over her gasping jaws.

"You're a……you're a……you mean you're from……you work for……_that _guy?" Rita squeaked.

"Basically, I'm a liaison and I usually come down for very big, top level cases. But this is my day off and I'd thought I'd help cheer you up. I mean after all, we've been watching you for some time now (winks) it's what we do up there" Taron said.

Rita's face nearly turned blue, she can't believe what she was hearing. Had she gone mad, was this guy truly what he said he was, did he REALLY come from that place? The small cat sighed and simply shrugged as she just realized it really didn't matter at this point. Rita's life was in such a pitiful state that as amazing as this discovery was, it's not gonna do a lick of good to her. Rita groaned and slumped onto the bench next to Taron, sulking her paws across her cheeks.

"Lots of luck pal; I've made such a mess of things I don't even think a miracle could save my back stabbing rear end now. Not like I deserve a rescue anyway" Rita said.

"Everyone deserves a second chance Rita, everyone" Taron said.

The small cat simply laughed and then winced, a stinging shot of pain jerking up her scar laced back.

"Wouldn't you want Runt to give you a second chance?" Taron asked curiously.

"Of course I would, I'd give my left pinky just to see that big lug's goofy face again. But it's not gonna happen, I was such a creep to that poor guy, I can't believe I was suckered in by those back stabbing alley cats" Rita groaned.

"If Runt's opinion of you is so important then why didn't you listen to him before?" Taron asked.

"For someone who's supposed to be watching us from up on cloud 9, you sure don't know Runt very well. If you did you wouldn't be asking me that" Rita said, smirking.

"Meaning?" Taron asked blankly.

"Ugh, because as nice a guy Runt is, he's still a blockhead. He's missing a few marbles upstairs and it ends up getting our tails in a sling on more than one occasion. I mean come on, the guy doesn't even know a cat from a dog" Rita said.

"Does that really matter?" Taron asked.

"Well of course it matters fancy pants, when you got your life on the line every night and your survival depends solely on a slobbering, bubble brain partner who thought a mad scientist trying to slice open his head was a nice lady" Rita said, crossing her gray furry arms.

"So then it wasn't just his incompetence that convinced you to eject him from your partnership, it was your continued survival" Taron said firmly.

"Sigh, well sort of. I mean I've always been used to Runt being a little……slow but lately it's been happening more often and one can't really afford to risk much when your living on the streets and scrounging for scraps for dinner. I hated the way it turned out with me and Runt but in the end I was too scared of starving to death to risk anymore food hunts with him" Rita sulked.

"Rita, there's nothing wrong with being a survivalist. When people are put under pressure they can do erratic things, things they never would have done if it weren't for the pressure being put on them, but I must be honest when I say you weren't in any real kind of danger" Taron said.

Upon hearing those words, Rita growled and stood up on her shaking, aching paws; outraged this silver suited person was telling her what was considered "life threatening" and what wasn't. Taron blinked as Rita pressed against his nose with her soft white paw finger.

"Now hold the phone there pal, you've got some nerve telling me how to live my life. I'm sick of going to sleep with an empty stomach night after night and I made a decision based on where I felt my life was going. Things were in the toilet for me and that's a fact jack, starving to death is starving to death no matter how you paint it and that's as good a reason as any other to take drastic measures" Rita snapped.

"But you still would have had Runt" Taron stated.

"So what? Runt is still a goof up and his goofs were costing us meal tickets, we'd have been skin and bones within a week if we kept up the pace we were going in" Rita said.

"But you still would have had Runt" Taron repeated.

"GRRR! I CAN'T live like that, don't you understand? I've been chewed up and spat out by this world enough times to know that I don't want to put up with it anymore. Those angels were my only ticket out. If I stayed with Runt, I would have slept in thunderstorms, chewed on mangled fish bones, run my tail off trying to escape knife-wielding humans, and put my life on the line trying to find a home where I'd have to play suck up to some stinking human 24/7" Rita screamed.

"But……you _still _would have had Runt" Taron said, yet again.

Filled with aggravating frustration, Rita's anger had boiled in her tiny veins so strongly she could barely see straight. The small cat snarled and simply collapsed face down onto the creaking wood of the street bench. Rita let out a whimpering meow, totally confused and irritated to the point she didn't even want to look at this smart mouthed mystery man.

"Does it really bother you that much? Runt being slow I mean. Does his mentality really make that much of a negative impact on you Rita?" Taron calmly asked.

"I'm sorry pal but it's just something that ends up being more of a burden then a blessing. I know it's not Runt's fault he's the way he is, but it does make me think twice about trusting him" Rita sadly replied.

The silver suited human laughed softly.

"That's quite funny actually, because the way I see it Runt is the most trustworthy creature I've ever known" Taron said, smiling.

"And just how do you figure that, tall, dark and sparkly?" Rita asked as she raised a curious eye.

Taron replied "Because he's pure, he's absolutely pure Rita. The Scarlet angels were planning on betraying you from the moment they laid eyes on you, it was amusing and fun to them. Runt derives pleasure from no such act, THAT is why you can trust him. Runt doesn't thrive on greed, money, power, status, or to be competitive, he thrives on love, he is _driven _by love itself! Think about it Rita. He doesn't sneak behind your back, he doesn't try to trick you or lie to you, and he doesn't want to prove he's better then you, he doesn't even want to be better then you.

The only thing that matters to Runt is love, the love he has for life……and for you. Your friendship with him is something Runt wouldn't trade for anything in existence".

Rita's eyes widened like shiny, sparkling diamond gems, her little green orbs twirling with absolute wonder. In all the years Rita has spent riding, running, and scavenging about with Runt, she never EVER thought of him that way. She thought no one could know him better than she did and Taron just told her things she never even dreamed possible with someone like Runt.

"I……I just……holy meow……I never even thought to look at it that way. Man……oh man, oh man, oh man. Runt. I didn't think that was even possible of Runt" Rita gasped.

"That……is why you left him" Taron said, nodding.

"You really are one of them, aren't you?" Rita cryptically asked.

"Ha, it doesn't take some holy messenger to see what you've been missing out on Rita. You may be the smarter of the two, but in some ways, a lot of ways, Runt will always be the strongest" Taron proclaimed.

Silence settled in and not a word passed between the 2 beings, their shadows remaining still as graves on the pale, moonlit sidewalk of the street behind them. Taron sighed as he gently brushed his hands onto his silver sparkling pant legs before starting to walk away. Rita gasped as she saw he was leaving and desperately clung one of her sliced up paws to one of Taron's arms.

"Wait" Rita pleaded.

Taron curiously turned his dark blue haired head and looked down at Rita.

"If you really are who you say you are, then, can you tell me what's going to happen to me and to Runt? You know, our future and stuff?" Rita asked.

The mysterious man laughed and gently patted Rita's paw off his arm, the cat sulked as she had a feeling where he was going with this. Taron stared his purple eyes softly into Rita's green eyes.

"I'm afraid that would be cheating my furry little friend. I'm sorry but I cannot tell you your future, your fate is what you make of it, not what some magic man tells you in the middle of the night" Taron said.

"Well, it was worth a try" Rita sulked.

"I'm afraid I must leave Rita, I hope you've learned something from our conversation. Before I leave though I just wanted to apologize one last time" Taron said.

"Apologize? What are you talking about, apologize for what?" Rita blinked as she asked.

"For what's about to happen to you" Taron said.

Before Rita could even ask what he meant by that, the small cat's eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets as Taron's feet and legs started to vanish in a sea of twinkling sparkles. Rita screamed and leapt off of the bench towards Taron only to grab at nothing but air. The terrified tiny cat looked up to the angelic man and cried out his name, asking him one last thing before he vanished into the night.

"WAIT, WAIT, please Taron tell me, what's about to happen to me, WHAT?" Rita cried out.

"Fate" Taron's voice boomed.

In the blink of a trembling eye, Taron was gone and poor confused little Rita was left to wonder what that strange man meant by fate.

CHINK!

A loud sound from behind suddenly chilled the spine in Rita's silver little body, it sounded like metal striking concrete. Rita's neck fur stood on end as she became paralyzed with fear. The tiny cat closed her eyes and crossed her paw fingers, praying in her mind that when she turned around, she wouldn't see who she thought was behind her. Rita slowly turned around and gasped.

"Pretty, bitty, kitty" Crazy Ivan cackled.

That maniacal, black bearded, twisted, monster of a homeless man was back, he had somehow escaped the police and was clutching a shimmering meat cleaver in his right hand. Ivan smirked towards Rita and clopped his worn down shoes closer to the frightened cat. Rita swallowed hard.

"Not again" Rita squeaked. 

----------

To be continued……


	12. Fate

**Fate**

"SOMEBODY HELP ME PLEASE" Rita screamed.

The cat squealed as she ducked, her tiny cut ears barely able to dodge the maniacal swinging of that lethal cleaver that was being swung at her like a baseball bat. Crazy Ivan clicked his rotting shoe heels after Rita without a second thought or an instance of hesitation. The insane man had gone mad from his homeless life, living without food, shelter, warmth, and basic hygiene. All he knew was that he had to survive, and that this cat was going to help him do that, even if he has to chase her down to the ends of the Earth and chop her into a trillion, million little pieces.

Rita called out for help, louder and more frantic with each terrified squeal. Her white paws slipped on the icy water trickling off the cold concrete of the sidewalks. Darkness shrouded Rita and Ivan in nightfall, a nightfall that would seemingly never be lifted, or at least, not in time anyway. Rita could call all she want, beg all she like, and scream for an angel in a silver or even a fur coat, but she knew she wouldn't get one. Despite all of the encouraging words the strange man Taron told her, she knew that she deserved everything that was happening to her.

This was punishment, pure and simple, punishment for the sweet and innocent friendship Rita so carelessly destroyed with Runt. Rita sniffled as sparkling diamond tears sprinkled from her woeful eyes. The small cat was running her legs into exhaustion, desperately trying to escape Crazy Ivan.

"I'm such a putz, I can't believe I was stupid enough to think I was better off with those stuck up snobs then someone like Runt. I deserve to be whacked over the head a few thousand times by a karma semi truck" Rita said.

"Me want kitty, me want kitty" Ivan cackled.

"And I swear that if I get out of this alive, I'm going to find Runt and I am going to make it up to that sweet lug nut, even if it kills me" Rita vowed.

"Me want kitty NOW" The hobo shrieked.

Another swing of the blade nicked off a few split hairs on Rita's gray tail, she screamed and desperately yanked her tail back, cringing at the feeling. The black bearded man laughed and started to drool from that rotten, cavity eaten set of teeth of his. Rita snarled and skidded her paws to a screeching halt.

"That tears it! I'm willing to pay for my mistakes, but they don't have to be from the likes of you rag man, MEOW" Rita hissed.

Suddenly Rita leapt off her paws and latched her arms and legs around Ivan's face, the man screamed as he was suddenly blinded by the cat's small body. Ivan growled and started wobbling around, wildly swinging the cleaver and trying to get Rita off his face. Rita gulped and held her tightly clinging paws on for dear life.

"Kitty making me very angry, me kill kitty for this, KILL" Ivan shouted.

"Whatever happened to solving your problems with non violent resistance?" Rita weakly joked.

Ivan's filthy, skeletal like fingers finally managed to latch onto Rita's tail, he yanked on her tiny body as hard as he can and yanked her off his face. Rita did whatever she could to stay on, she even raked her claws against the sides of Ivan's face and hair but nothing stopped him. Rita was removed and slammed down to the ground into a batch of wrinkled newspapers. The bony, grimy fingers of Ivan's hand suddenly felt something strange on the sides of his face……scars! There were new scratches on his face, and he felt a chunk of his black hair was missing.

"Oh no I didn't" Rita groaned.

The tiny cat nervously looked at one of her claw-clutched paws and gulped, there was a small chunk of raggedy black hair stuck between her fingers. If Rita wore pants she'd more than likely be wetting them now. Ivan stared down at Rita with a fiery, violent flare in his boiling olive eyes.

"Gulp, looks like I did, I REALLY did it now" Rita whimpered.

"Kitty go bye, bye" Ivan snarled.

The crazed human slammed his cleaver down with a fury known only by the devil himself, Rita screamed and barely leapt out of the newspaper pile in time. The cat's jade green eyes widened in horror as she watched the cleaver slice through the papers in the blink of an eye. Ivan roared as he raised the blade again and began swinging at Rita once more.

"Somebody, anybody, anywhere, HELLLP MEEEEEE" Rita squealed.

The cat turned tail and once again, raced for her very life. Block after block after block, Rita ran and never looked back, not wanting to dare look into that mad man's eyes for the rest of her furry little life. There had to be something she could do, some place she could go and get this rotten old bum out of her hair once and for all.

"The only way I can lose that walking dirt stain is to get those police humans to go after him. But to do that, I got to find that station of theirs and hope they see this nut ball chasing me" Rita thought to herself.

The tiny cat started to look around; glancing at building after building, hoping and praying that the station would show up soon, that is, if she hadn't already passed it. A white and blue car slowly came into view. Rita gasped; she recognized those colorful lights on top and that picture of a shiny star on the side of the doors. Rita knew those cars belonged to the police humans.

"Perfect, now all I have to do is get onto those steps, knock on that door and then UGH" Rita grunted.

A swift kick to her tiny rubs sent Rita flying into a dark alleyway, just a few pounces away from reaching the police station. The vicious homeless man had slammed his gangly leg into Rita's fluffy white chest and tossed her into the alley like a furry ragdoll. Rita cried out as her scar laced back crashed into a steel fence, she dropped to the ground and winced as she could barely feel her trembling arms and legs. The cat's body was in so much pain she wasn't even sure if she could stand up to defend herself after that kick to the ribs.

"You dead meat now kitty, dead meat, dead meat for Ivan" the mad man said.

Meanwhile elsewhere……

Runt stuffed his black olive nose neck deep into mounds of rotting garbage, rummaging his paws through large dumpsters and trashcans, hoping to find something useful to munch on. The dog's stomach pains hardly compared to the loneliness he felt without Rita by his side.

"Sure is quiet without Rita, definitely quiet. I bet she's eating something really nice though, yeah, definitely nice. Just wish I could be with her right now" Runt said to himself.

Laughter echoed down a particular corner of the street, the red headed dog blinked as he turned around to spot a trio of shadows slowly approaching. It was the Scarlet Angels. Runt blinked as he examined the cats and carefully counted their number on his white paws. Iris, Cheryl, Fran and……Rita? There were only 3 to Runt's count, not 4.

"Hey, hey, HEY wait just a minute you doggies" Runt shouted.

The sinister trio perked their ears up as they heard someone call out to them, a loud groan escaped Fran and Cheryl's furry lips as they saw it was Runt who called to them. Iris smirked and crossed her green arms over her chest.

"Well, well, if isn't the dope that got dumped" Cheryl snickered.

"What's the matter Fido; lose your brain or something?" Fran laughed.

"Where's Rita? You were definitely with her last, definitely" Runt said sternly.

"Last I heard that cat's business was no longer YOUR business dog so why don't you butt out before we claw that hide of yours off and use it for a blanket" Fran said.

The 3 cats started to walk the other way but Runt quickly circled around them and blocked their way. Runt growled and snarled, barking at them with slobbering jaws. Runt knew he wasn't a violent dog at heart, and the cats probably knew it too, but no matter what happened between him and Rita, he still wanted to know if she was all right.

"Don't embarrass yourself more then you already have Runt, we both know you don't have the guts to lay a paw on us. Even if you did I'd still cut you to ribbons in a split second" Iris said.

The green cat's dark paws flicked out a pair of razor sharp claws, their ivory white blades gleaming in the glare of the moonlight. Runt remained firm and still, not budging an inch and growling more fiercely at the cats. Fran and Cheryl were surprised at how determined Runt was.

"I said I want to know what happened to Rita. She's definitely not with you, so where is she? You better tell me you mean doggies or I'll" Runt started to say.

"Or you'll WHAT? Huh? Your bark is worse than your bite bone breath. We both know that your about as tough as a marshmallow, and we also both know that Rita dumped your sorry behind by choice. So why not just drop the pathetic best friend act and quit acting like you care about that so called friend that dumped you like yesterday's trash? You don't really care about her now, do you? Your just trying to get back at us for teasing you, aren't you Runt?" Iris said.

"I definitely won't say it again" Runt snapped.

"Ha, a dope to the end, how droll. Last I saw your feline friend was receiving the bad end of a butt whooping from a human" Iris said, snickering.

Without saying another word, Runt barfed and shoved past the 3 cats, rushing all four of his big muscled legs and arms into full speed. Iris and the angels blinked as they saw him bolt down the block, running as fast as he possibly could. Runt didn't know where Rita was or what was happening to her, only that she was in trouble and one way or another, he had to find her.

"Oh no, this is bad, very bad. Definitely, definitely very bad" Runt thought to himself.

Back to Rita and Ivan……

CLANG!

Rita winced as she felt the furry base of her spine slammed up against the metallic cover of a trashcan, a trashcan that was serving as a dinner table for a certain, fowl smelling maniac homeless person. Ivan snickered and laughed as fowl, disgusting scents started to flow from his rotten yellow teeth. The gray cat could only cringe and gag at the nauseating smell of her crazed captor. Using a bunch of tangled up, rain soaked bungee cords, Ivan had managed to forcefully tie Rita down to the top of the trashcan lid and keep her firmly locked and trapped in place.

Rita cried out as she squirmed, struggled, and screamed, fighting vividly against those bungee bonds but finding no strength or courage to do anything of the sort. The wounds and aching muscles from Rita's encounter with the chef had left her body completely drained of energy. That and the sweet singing cat was still heartbroken over the fact she was going to end up an appetizer for Ivan before she ever got the chance to apologize to Runt. The silver cat's cut ears wilted down as Rita weakly laid her head down and closed her jade eyes in silent suffering.

"I can't believe this is going to end this way. After everything that happened, all these years, sigh. Dodging crazed Dobermans, Nazi oppression, Egyptian wackos, mad scientists, and one loopy little witch hunter. All to end up as dinner for some homeless nut job" Rita said sadly.

Ivan smiled and slobbered, globs of crystal clear spit dribbling off chunks of dirt grass clinging to those raggedy locks of pitch-black beard hair. The twisted rat man held his cleaver in one hand, a busted plastic fork in the other, and a chocolate stained baby bib with a faded Winnie the Pooh on it. Ivan licked his gangly grinning lips and stared hungrily at his helpless midnight snack. Rita sniffled weakly as tears softly poured from her jasmine eyes.

"All these years I've been singing, singing such hopeful songs. Now, now on my very deathbed, I find my singing voice has disappeared. Music once filled my heart with happiness, with joy, now there's nothing there, it's empty, gone forever……just like Runt" Rita said.

The familiar shimmer of that cruddy cleaver blade glared once more in Rita's weepy eyes. Ivan was ready to eat and judging how he was hovering the blade right over Rita's forcefully bare white tummy, one swing was all he was going to need to end both their suffering. Rita's eyes closed tight as she bit her lip. How sad it was she was going to die like this, even sadder was the fact Rita knew that with Runt gone, no one would miss her……no one.

"Goodbye Runt, be happy" Rita whispered.

WHOOSH!

Suddenly a cool burst of rushing wind was felt around Rita's body, the cat's arms and legs were suddenly freed from the bungee cords, and she found her limbs free and unharmed. Ivan gasped as the can was knocked over and his blade seemingly missed the furry little cat.

"I don't believe it……Runt?" Rita gasped.

The brave, smiling, goofy as always, Runt was seen standing in the middle of the alleyway, Rita's soft and fluffy neck fur lodged firmly in his jaws. Ivan growled as he tightly clutched his cleaver blade and snarled bitterly at the intruding dog. Rita just couldn't keep her mouth closed, her eyes widening second by second as she stared flabbergasted at Runt's sudden rescue.

"You……you……you came back……for me?" Rita weakly replied.

"Hi Rita, are you all right Rita? I hope your all right, definitely all right because I" Runt said.

The dog tried to finish his sentence but suddenly his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground, Rita gasped as he had a HUGE blood red scar on his brown furry back. Runt must have taken a swipe from Ivan's cleaver when he rescued her. Rita's eyes burst with pouring tears.

"RUNT NO" Rita screamed.

----------

To be continued…...


	13. Make it Right

**Make it Right**

Author: Sorry it took me so long to update this. I got a convention tomorrow to prepare for, plus I've been lacking the "spark" to write lately so it took me a while to get in the mood to finish this chapter. Sorry you guys had to wait so long, and hope your enjoying the story.

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"Runt, Runt, Runt, Runt, RUNT" Rita screamed.

The terrified cat was absolutely speechless; her jasmine green eyes sparkled with heavenly scented drops of water that dripped from her sobbing eyes. In a flash of cold steel and even colder blood, Rita had watched her friend take a life-ending slice from a mad man's blade just to save her worthless hide. Runt whimpered and grunted, a bloody scar stretched across his back.

"Please no" Rita said.

Time seemed frozen around Rita, her trembling snow-white paws shook feverishly as she stepped towards Runt and cradled his face. Rita's paws felt warm goo, drool, that wonderful drool Runt so proudly wore on his goofy smiling face. Oh, how I hated the sight of that drool Rita thought to herself, now as she watches Runt's chest breath slower and slower, she wished he would slobber that drool over her face one last time.

"You c-can't leave me Runt (sniffle) you can't. I don't have anyone else…I never did…I always had you and you alone. I was such an IDIOT to say those horrible things to you" Rita said.

Runt weakly lifted his head, feeling the blood drain down as his body racked with pain too intense to allow any kind of physical movement. The husky dog could barely lift his paws off the ground. Rita's gray fur became damp as her sparkling tears dripped onto her small arms, she cradled them ever so gently around Runt's head.

"I'm so scared Runt, so scared. A life without you (shudders) it's too scary to even think about. I never even got to say I'm sorry, I never got to tell you how much I missed you, or how warm your fur is, or how I missed your smell, or how I'm going to make it through the rest of this cold life without you here, oh good god, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME RUNT" Rita wept.

"I'm definitely here Rita……definitely……definitely" Runt weakly said.

The dog's eyelids slowly closed and he whimpered weakly as his body started to shake and shiver, searing shots of pain started to spread out his body like a virus. Rita buried her face in Runt's fur and just cried what little tears she had left in her sorrow stained eyelids.

"Ha, ha, ha, doggy dead doggy. Doggy go bye, bye and now kitty go bye, bye. Ivan make both kitty and doggy go bye, bye" Ivan said, cackling wickedly.

Upon hearing those words and that sickening laugh, Rita's eyes turned a fearsome jungle green as she lifted up her paws from Runt's neck and confronted the filthy old man. Rita hissed as cold and ruthlessly as a vampire. The tiny gray cat flashed a set of razor sharp claws in front of Ivan's hate filled eyes.

"I'm only going to say this once……stay the _**HELL**_ away from him" Rita snapped.

"Kitty not scare me, kitty dead kitty, join dead doggy and then Ivan going to eat doggy all up. Yum, yum, yum" Ivan said.

"I said STAY AWAY FROM HIM" Rita shrieked.

SLASH!

"AAAAAAUUUGH" Ivan howled.

Those pearly white claws were suddenly doused with a faint stain of red liquid. Ivan screamed as his hands grasped his face in excruciating pain, the cleaver dropped and clanged to the ground, drowned out by his horrible screams. Rita's claws had slashed the very sanity out of his filthy, dried up, wrinkly skin.

"That's what you get……that's what you get" Rita said sternly.

Ivan gasped and stumbled against a broken crate, his eyes and jaws continuing to race and increase with maddening agony. Rita walked right up to the maniacal mad man and stared right in his twisted eyes. The cat's sparkling jade eyes burned like green colored fire, burning savagely and bravely.

"Listen up and listen good wacko" Rita hissed.

"Ugh?" Ivan asked.

As strange as it may sound, as insane as it may sound, Ivan could have sworn this tiny, gray, defiant little cat was somehow communicating to him. This cat was telling him something, something very serious.

"I don't care if you understand this or not, so long as I want it clear I tried. As strange as it may sound, I understand you. Your life dealt you a bad hand, you're downright peeved about it, and it makes you do crazy and indescribable things, inhuman things……_animal _like things. You're doing whatever it takes just to survive in a world that has chewed you up and spat you out. You feel the world owes you something, and that you deserve better than this life, much, much better.

How do I know this? Because in way I am you. Hairstyle's a bit different, not much in the tail department and then there's the whole bathing thing (holds nose) but at the end of the day, I'm no different then you are pal. The good news is though, I'm learning, I'm learning what's really important in life. Food, shelter, fame, none of that is worth even an ounce of what friendship is worth. Tonight, I almost threw everything that was good in my life away for absolutely nothing.

Looking at you now, I'm ashamed I ever let myself get that far. In a way, I'm sorry for what happened to you Ivan. However, bad luck or good luck, that's no excuse for trying to take away the only real good thing I've got in this life and that is and will ALWAYS be Runt" Rita said.

Ivan snarled as his bony hands weakly peeled off his blood red scarred face and reached for his filthy cleaver. Rita frowned as Ivan's scrawny chest heaved faster and faster, climbing as his rage escalated dramatically.

"**You'll pay for this**" Ivan coldly replied.

Hearing Runt's weak and fading groans, Rita bit her lip as she knew it was too risky to fight Ivan with Runt so vulnerable. Rita cautiously bit her lip and quickly started forming a plan as the lanky homeless man raised his rusty cleaver blade up high. Suddenly an idea sparked in Rita's mind and her eyes flashed like a flaming comet.

"I've got it, WHOA" Rita gasped.

CLANG!

The silver feline barely managed to dodge a swipe from Ivan's bloodthirsty cleaver, Rita quickly rolled out of the way. Ivan grunted as his blade had become wedged in the concrete and fiercely tried to remove it. Rita took Ivan's distracted attention to her advantage and quickly rushed to Runt, the mortified cat gently cradled Runt's head in her paws like it were a baby.

"I need to leave you for a few minutes big guy, but don't you worry, I'm high tailing it right back here first chance I get. There's just something I gotta take care of first. Just promise me one thing? Don't go dying on me you sweet ball of fur" Rita said.

"D-d-d-definitely" Runt weakly replied.

Rita nearly burst into tears hearing Runt say that, she giggled softly, kissed Runt on his furry forehead and quickly turned back to Ivan. The small cat meowed loudly at her fowl-smelling enemy and quickly ducked between his legs. Ivan blinked as Rita dove onto her snow-white belly and slid right under his feet, Rita was now directly behind Ivan.

"Hey, Rip Van Stinkle! Get your rat smelling behind over here and follow me, I'm the one you want. Come on and let's see if you can keep up skunk breath" Rita snapped.

Crazy Ivan screamed and quickly flashed his yellow teeth at the sweet singing cat, Ivan's cleaver swung madly at the furry creature. Rita's white paws pumped rapidly down the street as her jasmine eyes started to dart around in search of something. Every so often, Rita would look behind at her wagging gray tail and made sure Ivan was still following her, it was crucial that he never lost sight of her.

"I sure hope this works" Rita thought to herself.

Meanwhile……

"HA, HA, HA, I mean did you see the look on her face? Priceless" Fran said, cackling loudly.

The smug, raggedy cat trio known as the Scarlet Angels were prancing across the town, sharing stories of laughter and torment amongst their frazzled, whiskered lips. The memory of Rita's crushing humiliation was still fresh in the cat's minds and they loved every delicious, painful bit of that memory. Iris proudly crossed her green arms across her furry chest and nodded.

"I have to say ladies, this was certainly our finest hour, one of the finest the Scarlet Angels has ever had. It was risky taking such a puny pipsqueak like Rita on our team but the sweet taste of victory sure outweighed the bitter sense of her presence" Iris said.

Cheryl and Fran laughed and clapped their paws together up high, as if raising a toast to their obnoxiously grotesque "victory" over a Rita.

"You were right Iris, losing that tropical trout was totally worth it just to see that simpering baby get royally dumped" Fran said.

The white fluffy, puffball cat called Cheryl dropped onto her back and started to imitate Rita. Cheryl mocked Rita's voice and flapped her paws in a barbaric mimic of Rita's behavior when the chef in the alleyway restaurant was attacking her.

"Oh woe is me, woe is me, I hang out with a brain dead dog and I got a singing voice that could strip paint. Whatever shall I do?" Cheryl said.

The 3 cats just burst with laughter at that last remark.

"You sound like a bunch of loud mouthed hyenas then a bunch of cats if you ask me" Rita sneered.

Suddenly the Angels turned and grinned, spotting their old fallen friend Rita, on all four paws and hissing at them like a furry viper. No fear was felt in Iris hardened heart, she simply smiled and examined her chocolate brown paws and idly flicked off a few dirt specks. Iris seemed careless of Rita's presence.

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in? The little kitten that just couldn't cut it. You've got some awfully big yarn balls crawling back to us Rita" Iris said.

"Oh yeah, sure, you got me all figured out, you back stabbing rat with whiskers" Rita snapped back.

"Cute Rita, but if you're not here to beg for your butt kissing position back, then just why are you here?" Cheryl asked.

"To give you girls the spanking you deserve, extra heavy on the karma" Rita replied.

Once again, the raggedy rat tag trio of rotten cats burst with twisted laughter. Fran could barely breath she laughed so hard.

"Oh that's rich Rita, that's real rich. I'd love to see you try" Fran said.

"Now who said anything about me?" Rita said with a smirk.

Iris and the other cats simply stared at Rita with blank faces, the ideal reaction Rita was looking for as she suddenly dove towards the nearest object: a mailbox. Rita dove into the open mail slot and quickly vanished from sight.

ROAR!

A psychotic scream echoed in the darkness as the cleaver-wielding maniac, Crazy Ivan, stormed into view. Ivan angrily darted his beady eyes left and right, looking for Rita but finding no trace of the gray feline. The crazed man suddenly blinked as he looked down and saw 3 more cats, his yellow teeth grinding with rage as he raised his cleaver in sight of the 3 felines.

"CRUD" Iris screamed.

Ivan slashed his cleaver at the Scarlet Angels, Cheryl shrieked as a chunk of fluffy snow-white fur flew off her tail thanks to Ivan's swinging slicing and dicing. Fran, Iris, and Cheryl frantically pushed each other and ran on top of each other, desperate to escape Crazy Ivan who chased them deep into the darkness until they all vanished from sight. Rita's white paws slowly pried open the mailbox lid a few minutes later, curiously poking her jasmine green eyes outside.

"Heh……well what do you know? Thanks Taron, I owe you one" Rita said, smiling brightly.

Rita hopped down from the mailbox and quickly raced her paws into a sprint, racing faster and faster back towards the alley where she left Runt. A glimmer of a teardrop twinkled in the jungle green shade of Rita's eyes as she feared for the worse.

"Just hold on Runt, just hold on, I'm coming back for you big guy, I'm coming with all my heart and soul" Rita said.

To be continued……


	14. The Sweet

**The Sweet**

Author: I want to take this time to credit Nickelback and Avril Lavigne for the lyrics to their songs "Happy ending" and "So far away". Enjoy the conclusion!

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"Just hold on Runt, hold on for me, just this once. After all the things we've been through, all the times we dodged death, and all the beautiful memories we have shared, please. Hold on. Just hold on, so I can make more beautiful memories……with you" Rita thought to herself.

The streets and signs of the midnight fallen city blurred past Rita's jasmine eyes in a blur of neon lights and blackened steel. So many lives, so many creatures, so many things existed behind those dark alleyways and steel buildings. Rita's mind was focused on one thing in particular, a person, a life, a life that is worth crying a billion tears over. A person named Runt.

"I've been a crummy friend to you buddy and I know it, just please, hang on so I can make it up to you" Rita said.

_This time, This place  
Misused, Mistakes  
Too long, Too late  
Who was I to make you wait  
Just one chance  
Just one breath  
Just in case there's just one left  
'Cause you know,  
you know, you know_

Rita had sung many songs in her life, singing about her feelings, her pride, her desires, but never about Runt. Oh how that dog filled Rita's heart with joy, oh how she felt her tiny heart pound away in the fluffy white confines of her furry chest. The gray cat ran faster and faster. Rita's paws ached as her arms and legs felt shot, yet she pushed herself forward, she pushed herself for him.

_That I love you  
I have loved you all along  
And I miss you  
Been far away for far too long  
I keep dreaming you'll be with me  
and you'll never go  
Stop breathing if  
I don't see you anymore_

Egypt, Poland, France, Salem, Transylvania, Antarctica and a thousand other places Rita could barely remember or name. The cat smiled as tears formed in her twinkling jade green eyes, remembering fondly of the day she first met Runt. Rita had been dumped into the pound by her former master, and behind a wall of concrete, a voice called out to her, Runt's voice.

"I remember it like the back of my paw. Always the optimist that big lug, he loved humans just as much as I hated them, I don't think I ever heard him once say anything bad about anyone. I thought he was a cat, and he thought I was a dog (laughs) he still thinks I'm a dog……I'm almost there Runt, almost" Rita said.

_On my knees, I'll ask  
Last chance for one last dance  
'Cause with you, I'd withstand  
All of hell to hold your hand  
I'd give it all  
I'd give for us  
Give anything but I won't give up  
'Cause you know,  
you know, you know_

Suddenly, the alleyway came into view, Rita's heart raced with unbridled happiness as she ducked into the corner and threw her gray arms open to embrace her beloved canine friend.

"Runt?" Rita weakly asked.

There was no one in sight. Not a sign, not a trace, not a speck of Runt's existence except a bloody white rag sinking into an ice-cold puddle. Either Runt got up and walked away, or someone came and took him. Rita's furry knees started to shake with fear.

"Hi Rita" Runt said.

The cat's cut ears perked up as Rita gasped, she turned around and saw Runt standing right behind her. Standing on all 4 paws, looking firm as can be, even with that red scarf lacing along his dark peach colored fur. Rita was so scared a second ago, she thought……she thought……

_So far away  
Been far away for far too long  
So far away  
Been far away for far too long  
But you know, you know, you know_

_I wanted  
I wanted you to stay_

"Oh thank goodness Runt, I thought you" Rita said.

"Wait Rita, definitely wait please" Runt asked.

The small gray feline halted in her furry footsteps, a bit surprised by this reaction from Runt. Rita slowly nodded and stood still, watching runt ever so dearly. Runt sighed and hanged his head.

"I'm feeling much better Rita, but you still made me feel bad inside, definitely, definitely bad. That shiny man that told me you were going to do something bad to me, he was right, definitely right" Runt said.

Rita simply nodded and weakly rubbed her eyes, remembering Taron's little "warning".

"I tried to tell you about those mean doggies, I really definitely tried Rita but you seemed happy with them, even if you were happier with them then with me. I'm sorry those doggies hurt you. I definitely wanted the best for you Rita, I always have" Runt said.

"Oh Runt" Rita whimpered.

"I know I'm……dumb and slow, I definitely know that. I know I don't always understand the things you're saying, and that I get distracted really easy, and I know that makes you mad sometimes. I don't want to make you mad Rita but my head……my head doesn't go as fast as yours, I definitely know that" Runt solemnly said.

Rita crossed her legs and sat down, listening intently.

"But I always try, I always definitely try real hard to help out. I know you save me from bad things Rita, things that I can't see or don't know about, and I've done the same for you. But, no matter how scary things got, I always knew we'd make it Rita, sometimes I like to just jump right into some bad people just to hear you sing your songs after we escape at the end. I definitely care about you Rita, and it made me feel sad when you left me" Runt said.

The tiny female cat clung to her ears and sobbed at the memory of those horrible things she said as Runt continued.

"I felt mad, definitely, definitely mad. I really wanted to stay mad at you Rita but……I couldn't, I just couldn't. I've had so much fun with you that no matter what bad stuff that happens between us, I don't want to stop having fun with you. I want to keep going around the world and finding new stuff to chew on, and new humans to play with, until we find a big nice home where we can play all day forever, definitely, definitely forever, with you Rita……with you" Runt said.

"Runt, I'm so sorry, sorry I ever treated you that way. You don't know how long I've wanted to tell this to you, how long I wanted to tell you. Can you ever forgive me?" Rita begged.

"I can't forgive you Rita" Runt said bluntly.

Rita's heart suddenly felt like it had been split in two.

"Because I love you" Runt said.

Rita's eyes nearly burst out of their sockets as she ran towards Runt and wrapped her arms around his big furry chest. Runt smiled as he felt Rita bursting with tears into his fur, hugging him so tightly and crying the very essence of her heart out with a compassionate cry.

"I LOVE YOU RUNT" Rita sobbed.

_'Cause I needed  
I need to hear you say  
That __**I love you**__  
I have loved you all along  
And __**I forgive you**__  
For being away for far too long  
So keep breathing  
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore  
Believe it  
Hold on to me and, never let me go  
Keep breathing  
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore  
Believe it  
Hold on to me and, never let me go  
Keep breathing  
Hold on to me and, never let me go  
Keep breathing  
Hold on to me and, never let me go_

Suddenly Rita grabbed Runt by his big, floppy brown ears, embraced her snow-white lips into his face, and engaged in a passionate kiss with Runt. The dopey dog's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree before slowly closing and returning the heartfelt gesture. Rita and Runt smiled as they locked their lips into a kiss of eternal love and simply basked in each other's warmth. Rita's whiskers made a soft smack as she gently pulled away from Runt's lips, Rita giggled softly.

"That was nice……definitely, definitely, DEFINITELY nice Rita" Runt said.

"That was spectacular big guy, and it's all thanks to you. I never would have had the courage to open my heart, until you gave me yours" Rita said.

"Rita, your such a silly dog, definitely silly, you always had it" Runt replied.

Rita simply smiled at that beautiful statement and kissed Runt on the lips once more, she gently cradled her paws onto Runt's back, carefully making sure she didn't touch his scar. Runt giggled as he felt Rita's paws secure around his floppy brown ears like they were saddles.

"Okay Rover, let's hit the road, it's time go home" Rita said.

"Gee Rita, where's that?" Runt happily asked.

"Where ever we are Runt, as long as were together" Rita answered.

Runt woofed in happy agreement and shot off like a rocket, running and flexing his paws as he raced into the rising sun. Rita smiled and kissed Runt's furry cheek and giggled as she held on tight to her slobbering lover. The gray cat sat up and spread her arms out like wings and closed her eyes, Rita sighed as she felt the wind beneath her arms as she and Runt raced off…….

…….Together.

Taron smirked "I knew those two would get back together. Some people, as they are, are just meant to be. It's fate".

**THE END!**


End file.
